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Music That Sticks To My Soul
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STACY ROBIN, Where Truth Lies
In an industry where many independent artists who have awesome, inspirational “day jobs” still prefer to hide their alter egos so as to keep the focus on their musical artistry, Stacy Robin stands out by putting it all out there. It’s right there in the first line of her bio. Beyond her years of accolades from L.A. Music Awards, Las Vegas FAME Awards and Producers Choice Awards – and countless songs appearing on commercials and TV/Film (Toyota, Nestle, The Young and the Restl
Jonathan Widran
13 minutes ago


DIETER SPEARS, "Chance Encounter"
As Owner and President of Wayfarer Music Group, multi-instrumentalist and inventive sonic architect enjoys a vast influence on the realm where ambient/chill, electronic and new age music meets post-rock, spiritual, world music and cinematic styles. Yet as a composer and artist recording masterfully eclectic, creatively expansive and deeply intricate albums for the label, he’s been delightfully hard to pigeonhole these past few years. The handful of recordings I’ve written abo
Jonathan Widran
4 days ago


25 YEARS OF PHATNESS: A Tribute to Gordon Goodwin
After a rockin’, bold splash of brassy fanfare, the audience at the Fred Kavli Theater eager to celebrate the life of one of contemporary music’s most storied and versatile composer/arrangers heard a colorful intro from the recently departed - but very much there in spirit – legend himself. With percussive brass punches chiming in for emphasis after each phrase, they heard, “Good evening, everybody. This is Gordon Goodwin and I really want to thank you for coming tonight. Hol
Jonathan Widran
Jan 15


SARA PAAR and MARCIA ECKERT, Wisdom's Harvest
Both widely acclaimed treasures of NYC’s contemporary classical scene with extensive, impactful individual histories, contemporary classical/opera soprano Sara Paar and pianist Marcia Eckert bring to their exquisitely rendered, intricately produced and thematically powerful full length collection Wisdom’s Harvest the full force of their longtime partnership, shared performance history and passion for sharing overlooked musical treasures they’ve found throughout their careers
Jonathan Widran
Jan 10


PATTI CUDD, Cyanotypes
Here’s a so called “fun fact” about veteran world class percussionist, distinguished educator and musical visionary Patti Cudd. In addition to her commitment to avant-garde 21st Century music and revolutionary integration of percussion with real time electronic processing, she’s trained in the martial arts for nearly three decades and holds a 3rd degree black sash in Chuan Lu Kung Fu. Always pushing herself and the proverbial envelope in so many ways, she often eschews tradit
Jonathan Widran
Jan 10


GINA KRONSTADT, THE KRONSTADT COLLECTIVE (Feel Something)
One of the great sonic wonders that singer/songwriter Gina Kronstadt brings to her latest album THE KRONSTADT COLLECTIVE is her willingness to take chances and the freedom to mix up various styles on a single track, as she does with the fascinating opening piece and title track “Feel Something.” It’s a slice of musical surrealism inspired by the docuseries The Warhol Diaries, which touched on Andy Warhol’s album artwork for jazz luminaries like Monk, Count Basie and Kenny Bur
Jonathan Widran
Jan 9


JAY D'AMICO, Tuscan Prelude: Jazz Under Glass
In 2008, nine years after establishing his unique classical and jazz hybrid style with re-imaginings of arias by the likes of Puccini, Bellini and Verdi, pianist/composer Jay D’Amico returned to Italy – both physically and perhaps more significantly, musically – for Tuscan Prelude , a collection of originals that launched the Jazz Under Glass branding aesthetic that has subsequently driven and defined all of his recordings, including Nocturne (2010), Melodia (2024) and most
Jonathan Widran
Jan 3


THE JAY D'AMICO JAZZ ENSEMBLE, Ponte Novello
Over the last 25+ years, veteran New York pianist/composer Jay D’Amico has set a fascinating standard that sets him apart from all other jazz-based recording artists, finding ways to artfully and engagingly fuse the two great loves of his musical life - European classical arias and American improvisational jazz. Whether performing with a trio, duo with bass or larger jazz ensemble, he’s rooted those passions in a fascinating, heritage-based curation and exploration of Italian
Jonathan Widran
Jan 2


JAY D'AMICO, Melodia
Thinking back to the sensory and soul transforming experience of immersing in veteran pianist Jay D’Amico’s Ginevra: a portrait of little girl blue , I realize that I was perhaps more focused on his fascination for all things Da Vinci and why he chose to expound musically on his emotional connection to the iconic painter’s “other” masterwork than on the mastery and dynamics of his newly formed trio (his brother, bassist Greg D’Amico and drummer Michael Fox) and how the album
Jonathan Widran
Dec 30, 2025


2002, The Wishing Well
Deep into 2002’s fourth decade of recording, the release of another sonically intricate, melodically and rhythmically transcendent and soul-transformative album like their latest, The Wishing Well , is another opportunity to tap into the behind-the-scenes magic behind the ongoing dynamic musical flow of the husband-and-wife team of Pamela and Randy Copus and their daughter Sarah – a trio Michael Diamond of Music and Media Focus once called “the first family of new age music.”
Jonathan Widran
Dec 29, 2025


MAGGIE HERRON, Yesterday's Lives
A beloved institution on the Hawaiian club scene currently celebrating a remarkable 50 years of performing on the islands, Maggie Herron’s life and career are powerful testimonies to the healing power of music, a deeply heartfelt and intensely challenging journey now culminating in the release of her transcendent, stylistically eclectic ninth album, the perfectly titled Yesterday’s Lives . In the wake of great tragedy and loss, music, so it’s said, can act as a powerful tool
Jonathan Widran
Dec 27, 2025


PAULA ATHERTON, "Make It Happen"
After another emotionally topsy turvy year, veteran sax powerhouse Paula Atherton finds a golden, exhilarating way to celebrate her remarkable 25-year recording career while gifting smooth jazz fans with the perfect, hard-pumping soundtrack to a fresh, optimistic mindset to start 2026. Co-written with and produced by frequent collaborator – and onetime Kalimba Records labelmate – Greg Manning (with guitar and additional production by Lou Gimenez, “Make It Happen” is an edgy,
Jonathan Widran
Dec 26, 2025
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