Charles, Play!
shaun@blittzedmarketing.com April 2, 2024
O's Notes: Charles, Play! is the debut recording for pianist Charles Chen. He is also a software engineer and a magician! He teams up with some of his legends, Ralph Moore (t-sax), Peter Washington (b), and Kenny Washington (d) forming his dream band. Chen’s playing is gentle but definitive and the music swings across nine selections including four originals. We liked “Golson”, “Simple Pleasure”, and “Peter and the Big Bad Wolf”.
Foundations
shaun@blittzedmarketing.com April 2, 2024
O's Notes: Jazz pianist Geoffrey Dean plays a wide variety of music, but Foundations is focused on lesser known, hard bop tunes. Dean plays in a quartet with Harish Raghavan (b), Justin Copeland (t), and Eric Binder (d). There are nine selections highlighted by “E.S.P.”, the warm “Is That So”, and the swinging “Jet Stream”. Surprising fact: Dean goes by an alias, Baraka where he composes fresh, electronic music influenced by Hip hop, Jazz, R&B, and other progressive formats.
Desserts
shaun@blittzedmarketing.com April 2, 2024
O's Notes: Guitarist, producer Juan Carlos Quintero leads a quintet with Eddie Resto (b), Joe Rotondi (p), Joey DeLeon (perc), and Aaron Serfaty (d). Each of the musicians participated in arrangements. The program is collection of popular songs starting with “Tangerine”, and heavily infused with Latin rhythms as on “Estampa Cubana” and “Watching The Girls Go By”. There are also warm ballads like “Nature Boy”. Quintero’s scratching melds with the percussion seamlessly notably on “Along Came Betty”. His overall performance is excellent making Desserts… a tasty treat.
Tiny Big Band 2
shaun@blittzedmarketing.com April 2, 2024
O's Notes: Bassist Nikos Chatzitsakos just released a new edition of his Tiny Big Band 2. Tiny is by no means a description of the number of band members (a core nonet+ several guests), but perhaps more related to the relative obscurity of some of the musicians. But rest assured that they do a fine job illustrating fresh takes of the American songbook. We get two vocalists for this edition, Alexandria DeWalt, and Eleni Ermina Soufou, softening the attack with two songs each, notably “The Windmills of Your Mind” (Soufou) and “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” (DeWalt). Elsewhere the are plentiful instrumental solos, especially on "Fly Little Bird Fly”.
Rescue My Heart
shaun@blittzedmarketing.com April 2, 2024
O's Notes: Vocalist Jennifer Saran teams up with Narada Michael Walden on a series of romantic duets. They were timely with a release in time for Valentine’s Day 2024! They open with “Rescue My Heart”, setting the stage for four popular ballads over seventeen minutes, including the up-tempo, radio friendly song, “Where Have You Been” with a touch of rap.
Come Fly With Me
shaun@blittzedmarketing.com April 2, 2024
O's Notes: Vocalist Judy Whitmore is a student and lover of the American songbooks with a penchant for travel as well. She marries those passions on Come Fly With Me. She sings with a cabaret style in front of a very complimentary orchestra where the horns echo her lyrics and embellish the mood. Pianist Josh Nelson also makes a notable contribution, sprinkling the right notes at the right times. The strings bathed the stage on many selections, including the title track and “On An Evening In Roma”. We also enjoyed “Georgia On My Mind” with Adam Aejay Jackson joining Judy on the microphone.