top of page
THE JW VIBE
Music That Sticks To My Soul
Home: Blog



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
4 days ago


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
5 days ago


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


DENMAN MARONEY QUINTET, Umwelt
Over the course of his multi-decade recording career, Denman Maroney has mastered expanded the sonic possibilities of his chosen instrument with his invention of his “hyperpiano” technique, a method of playing both from the keyboard and from inside the cabinet simultaneously. Aiming to produce sounds beyond normal keyboard playing, he creates otherworldly orchestral-style textures, drones and percussive effects by sliding, bowing, stopping, plucking or hitting the strings wit
Jonathan Widran
Dec 23, 2025


PERCUSSIA, Murmuration
The clever and thought-provoking titles of Queens NY based modern chamber music ensemble Percussia’s first two albums – Plucked and Struck (2024) and their latest, Murmuration – perfectly reflect and symbolize the intricate and captivating signature sound the five-piece unit creates with their unique fusion of percussion (by group founder Ingrid Gordon and Frank Cassara), harp (Susan Jolles), flute (Margaret Lancaster) and viola and fadolin (Ljova). Bridging classical tradi
Jonathan Widran
Dec 23, 2025


ALEX LUBET featuring Victoria Vargas, Amy Levy: Songs of Love and Loss
A masterwork artfully weaving emotionally compelling, sparsely arranged subtlety and epic, empowering expression, Amy Levy: Songs of Love is a contemporary song cycle that brings together the diverse talents of three unique, creatively expressive personalities across three centuries – acclaimed composer and mountain dulcimer (among a myriad of traditional folk instruments) Alex Lubet, veteran Minnesota based mezzo soprano Victoria Vargas and 19th Century poet Amy Levy (1861-
Jonathan Widran
Dec 23, 2025


LUCINA YUE, Transcendent Phoenix
Over the past three decades, a handful of prominent contemporary classical artists have used their art in service of unique retellings of the phoenix mythology, drawing upon the creature’s heartrending death/rebirth symbolism and exploring themes of renewal and resilience – most notably, Thea Musgrave’s Phoenix Rising (1997), Stellah Sung’s The Phoenix Rising (2008) and Fénix by Juan María Solare (2013). With the release of her perfectly titled third work Transcendent Phoe
Jonathan Widran
Dec 23, 2025


STACY ROBIN, "Drive"
With motor already humming, and tribal drums bustling, veteran singer/songwriter Stacy Robin uses her beautifully sensual rasp to pull us into her feisty and empowering world music fired pop/rock anthem “Drive” – the lead single from her upcoming album Where Truth Lies - with lines inviting line that sets her (ultimately successful!) intention to create this generation’s “Born to Be Wild”: “Take to the highway, wide open road/Throw down the windows, my lungs overload.” Produc
Jonathan Widran
Dec 19, 2025


MARCUS GOLDHABER, "I Can't Wait For Christmas"
Beyond being a supremely stylish, critically acclaimed crooner, songwriter, multi-talented performer and Broadwayworld and MAC Award nominee who is one of his generation’s foremost purveyors of the Great American Songbook, Marcus Goldhaber has a sly sense of humor. With the release of the uber charming, richly nostalgic and sweetly romantic original holiday ballad “I Can’t Wait For Christmas,” he sees himself as another in a long line of Jewish songwriters (Irving Berlin, Sam
Jonathan Widran
Dec 15, 2025
bottom of page