April - 2020

Apr 30, 2020

PINEWOOD, All Things With Symmetry

Look, while it’s never been a stretch to call insightful pop/rock musicians prophets. Yet one truly wonders if Atlanta based singer/songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Kempe – whose years of making music on the sidelines culminate in his ambient-folk-alt rock-dreampop persona Pinewood – knew something we didn’t when he penned a line like “Apprehend our thoughts into quarantine. . .things we think we’ll never know/In time, the river will show” on “Riverbank,” th

Jonathan Widran

Apr 30, 2020

LISA RICH, Highwire

Here’s the fascinating and sublime thing about jazz: a beautiful voice telling soulful, insightful stories with the perfect swinging trio can resonate across generations, almost like an eternal caress of the heart. And with sprinkles of modern technology updating the sonic quality, a recording that should have been released over 30 years ago can still engage, delight and inspire decades later via a transcendent fusion of real time and timelessness. I thought I believed all th

Jonathan Widran

Apr 29, 2020

JOHN GREGORIUS, Full of Life

Though guitarist John Gregorius launched his solo recording career in the late 2000s with his debut album Heaven & Earth, the ever-evolving rock, electronica and ambience driven musical aesthetic that leads him to his new perfectly titled Spotted Peccary collection Full of Life feels – on multiple levels - like a warm, immersive time travel experience back to the early and mid-90s, a true heyday of contemporary instrumental music. The multi-talented artist’s unique ability to

ANCIENT WHALES, Vestiges of Tails Appear in All Of Us

Jonathan Widran

Apr 21, 2020

ANCIENT WHALES, Vestiges of Tails Appear in All Of Us

If we could dig up the bones of Ancient Whales from the deep, what wisdom would they offer us? Most likely, and perhaps more dramatically considering the time passed and their formidable size, the same as their musical counterparts, the hard driving, ferociously intense, Asheville, NC based veteran power rock trio of Enoch Bledsoe (vocals, guitar), Natalie Bledsoe (vocals, bass guitar) and Bryan Poole. Which brings us to their latest provocatively titled album Vestiges of Tai

Jonathan Widran

Apr 21, 2020

FRED RANDOLPH, Mood Walk

True, we live in a digital music era where album art is often an afterthought – and that’s a pity because veteran bassist Fred Randolph’s decision to have visual artist Julie Ann Accornero create the cover art to his stylistically eclectic, supremely grooving new album Mood Walk tells us everything we need to know about his musical and spiritual intentions in creating this endlessly fascinating masterwork. The gorgeous jaguar prowling down an impressionistic path full of upri

DAVE STRYKER with BOB MINTZER and the WDR BIG BAND, Blue Soul

Jonathan Widran

Apr 17, 2020

DAVE STRYKER with BOB MINTZER and the WDR BIG BAND, Blue Soul

In my enthusiastic review of guitarist Dave Stryker’s 2019 album Eight Track III – which capped his trilogy of contemporary jazz interpretations of classic pop hits from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s – I wrote, “The songs that could have been played on an 8-track apparatus in the 70s still sound fresh as jazz adventures in the 21st Century.” Delightfully, I was joined in my fandom of the series by legendary saxman Bob Mintzer, who guested several times in Stryker’s organ trio and h

KATHLEEN GRACE With LARRY GOLDINGS, Tie Me To You

Jonathan Widran

Apr 17, 2020

KATHLEEN GRACE With LARRY GOLDINGS, Tie Me To You

One of the most beautifully eloquent and gently heartbreaking vocal recordings in recent memory, Tie Me To You is more than a showcase for an exquisite singer (the sultry, gossamer voiced Kathleen Grace) backed by an accompanist (two time Grammy nominated pianist/keyboardist Larry Goldings. It’s an emotionally and spiritually transforming pairing of two world class, world weary but ultimately optimistic musical sojourners. The duo and their well-heeled ensemble spin an increa

ARMIK, "Tango Flamenco (25th Anniversary Version)"

Jonathan Widran

Apr 17, 2020

ARMIK, "Tango Flamenco (25th Anniversary Version)"

In the 90s when composer/guitarists like Ottmar Liebert and Armik were blazing their lilting yet fiery trails in Nouveau Flamenco music, the phrase seemed like a clever way to epitomize the growing genre. Had those who coined it seen further into the future and realized how fresh and exciting the vibe would still be decades hence, they might have more appropriately dubbed it the slightly less exotic “Timeless Flamenco” or “Eternal Flamenco." No artist more artfully and rhythm

Jonathan Widran

Apr 16, 2020

DAWGGONEDAVIS, "Weight of the World"

When the calm of the world is at stake, and every message of hope is crucial to our collective peace of mind and the endurance of the human spirit, it’s not only possible, but essential to present any form of love. Summoning courage and compassion in this very frightful era, international phenomenon Rebecca “DawgGoneDavis” branches out from her popular trademark hip-hop, rap and rock vibe to create the Techno “Weight of The World” - a powerhouse, high energy track she calls “

Jonathan Widran

Apr 16, 2020

JUAN TIGRE, The Dream Catcher

You’ve just gotta love a multi-talented artist who starts a disc with a Barry White like spoken baritone talking about tranquility, peace and love and speaks in French (“Through the Vines”), sings later in bright and rollicking, harmony laden Spanish with mariachi horns (“Mas”) and wraps perhaps the wildest 25 musical minutes you’ll ever experience reflecting on a precious “Memoria” with dreamy vocals and floating atmospheres. All the while infused by its New Orleans based cr

Jonathan Widran

Apr 16, 2020

SoloS

Weird how sometimes, the most amazing indie bands just disappear after a fast start. Fortunately, some, like the sonically raw, dreamy and trippy power pysch rock duo SoloS, re-emerge in unexpected ways that will blow your mind with rhythmic diversity, spaced out sonic effects, bright, percussive infectious melodies and intriguing, insightful lyrics. That’s the impact of their previously unreleased self-titled EP SoloS, which was recorded in the early 2010s but is only now se

Jonathan Widran

Apr 14, 2020

Calabó, One Day at a Time

With the release of the Puerto Rican based Calabó’s rhythmically eclectic, delightfully swinging and sonically inventive debut album One Day at a Time, Latin music doesn’t just have a new guitar hero – it’s got a literal one- man jazz band paving the way towards a bright, fanciful future. A veteran of his home country’s indie music scene, composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jandro Rivas has been unstoppable since turning his attention to jazz a few years back. The

THE JW VIBE

Music That Sticks To My Soul

PINEWOOD, All Things With Symmetry

LISA RICH, Highwire

JOHN GREGORIUS, Full of Life

ANCIENT WHALES, Vestiges of Tails Appear in All Of Us

FRED RANDOLPH, Mood Walk

DAVE STRYKER with BOB MINTZER and the WDR BIG BAND, Blue Soul

KATHLEEN GRACE With LARRY GOLDINGS, Tie Me To You

ARMIK, "Tango Flamenco (25th Anniversary Version)"

DAWGGONEDAVIS, "Weight of the World"

JUAN TIGRE, The Dream Catcher

SoloS

Calabó, One Day at a Time