This track starts off with a jazzy gospel part that’s just two chords over some lush strings. When Andy Kettle sent me this, he had me from the chord progression. But this is not where I was invested. Oh no. No no no. The hard hitting drums? Nope. The lack of bassline? Oh yeah I …
I first heard Ian Shaw in 2021 when I reviewed Hannah Horton’s album ‘Inside Out’ on which Shaw was the guest vocalist on tracks ‘Frozen Light’ and ‘Breathing Out’. Horton told me, “I mentioned I was recording a new album and he (Shaw) offered to take a listen and then wrote the lyrics for ‘Frozen …
‘Kairos’ is the new release from Izumi Kimura and Gerry Hemingway. Kimura is a pianist, originally from Japan, but now residing in Ireland. She has released several recordings, notably with contrabassist Barry Guy, trumpet player Artur Majewski (Vasco Trilla, Foton Quartet), and drummers Ramon Lopez and Gerry Hemingway. Much of Kimura’s work focuses on the …
This track is interesting in so many ways. It’s a powerful ballad, which starts off guitar led, and I get the feeling that the acoustic guitar plays a vital part in the pecussion of the overall arrangement. I’ll explain why shortly. Christina’s vocals are warm, it sits right at the front of the mix, she …
Too Many Zooz are NYC-based trio Leo Pelligrino on baritone sax, Matt Muirhead on trumpet, and David Parks on drums. London’s Jazz Café was the perfect venue for the trio, the crowd was enthusiastic, and the space was large, packed, and atmospheric. After the first set by pianist/rapper Harvey White who topped his piano playing, …
Iris Harley is a vocalist who has been influenced by iconic figures like Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. Following her dream to express her feelings in music and lyrics, she began writing her own songs. Her previous release, the wonderfully fluid ‘Love Your Vibe’ (well worth checking out on Bandcamp – see link below) …
Well, this song is a protest song if ever there was one! Sunshine reggae groove laid down in dub style with reverb which is the main ingredient of a dub track… Lord knows we need this song right now. This song is about wars going on around the world. It may not be on our …
This song is lyrical genius. To be fair I thought it was a song about a boy and boys being like that one particular one. But no, there’s an ambiguity in the song, and it is the theme as let’s face it dating in the 21st century is complex. I know. I dated in the …
This song is proper pop. It caught my ear as I was going through the spotify recommendations and checked out the rest of the album and this is track 2. I thought they were making a mistake when recommendation as part of their jazz curation, but…. This actually works! It’s so catchy, with a singalong …
Well this is a slice of great R&B mixed in with a bit of a latin groove! I love the chords on this, led by a guitar with a touch of tremolo. The keyboards give it that sugar, and a lovely synth bass just to give it that bounce…. Kinsella’s voice rides in effortlessly handling …
