Released late in a year in which our individual and collective feeling of connection to other people and especially loved ones has been physically and emotionally challenged and frayed like never before, Israeli singer Gitit Shoval’s Connected arrives as the solace, comfort, healing, hope and courage to carry on that our weary bodies and souls have been longing for. Just as secular folks and nonbelievers can joyfully sing Christmas hymns and groove on gospel music, listeners

Continuing on her artful, imaginative and uber-adventurous roll of capturing the tightrope of intense anxiety and cautious hope that defines the current zeitgeist, L.A jazz great Cathy Segal-Garcia follows her soul-provoking twists on Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” and the gospel/jazz standard “Sermonette” with an intimate yet spacious and expansive (seven and a half minute) medley of two late 60’s classics that collectively allow her to speak frankly

In June 2020, the calming and soul-stirring music of the sonically fascinating vocal duo Shunia entered my consciousness by way of the audio and video presentation of “Akal,” which I described as a “graceful, lilting and free-flowing, flute, voice and harp focused track.” While I was personally enraptured by the ethereal, atmospheric music that Lisa Reagan and Suzanne Jackson created in collaboration with their multi-faceted Tony Award winning producer Jamshied Sharifi, I see

There are two key takeaways from the empowering, hard swinging and deeply bluesy experience of listening to Love, Dad, the third album by the Larry Newcomb Quintet. Considering that the famed jazz guitarist traded crazy cool fours on his previous quarter set Living Tribute with recently departed legend Bucky Pizzarelli (in one of his last recorded performances), it’s a bold statement but necessary to relate that this uber-eclectic current set – featuring the brilliant timing,

Not sure exactly what a Hurricane Mouse is – except for the kick-ass funk/rock/jazz slam jam opening The Justin Rothberg Group’s third full length album – but for the sake of mixed musical metaphors and oddball oxymorons, let’s give it a shot. The “Hurricane” portion starts with Rothberg’s blazing electric guitar work that sometimes rocks and roars heavy over the feisty grooves of Jon Price (bass), Hiroyuki Matsuura (drums) and Andy O’Neill (percussion) at times (evidence: th

Who says all the best, boldest and most badass new jazz groups come from NYC? Just when our tired spirits and hopeful ears are in critical need, the most alternately incendiary/explosive, playfully swinging and lyrical/soulful trad jazz (with a little Latin twist) debut of early 2021 goes to The Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble, a brilliant, rhythmically eclectic newly formed group down the road a few hours (Baltimore/DC area). The spark that launched Jagged Spaces, a delightfully

Though her sound and songwriting acumen has evolved since ultra-indie, super hipster singer/songwriter Devon dropped her critically acclaimed full length debut Love & Haight, her promoters and praisers are still trying to draw us into her infectious, heart-hitting vibe with across the board comparisons to everyone from “Stevie Nicks meets the 1975” (for her breathy and sensual ode to romantic hope “Never Mind”) to Feist and Florence + The Machine (attempting to describe the s

Not that our sense of what qualifies as “normal” will ever quite be the same after this, but in a normal year, a review of the annual Dave Koz & Friends Christmas show would focus on the usual elements that have made his annual tour an inspirational, blast-filled tradition among smooth jazz fans for nearly 25 years. The expansive set list of secular and sacred slices of holiday cheer (“We Need a Little Christmas,” Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Silent Night,” “O Holy Night”

Like the fresh, glistening grace of the long awaited initial flurries of the year, renowned classical and jazz pianist Robert Prester and traditional and Brazilian jazz vocal stylist Adriana Samargia’s adventurous and dashingly eclectic debut dual album First Snow tingles and dazzles our senses at just in the nick (pun intended) of time. Most artists release their holiday fare earlier in the fall for maximum airplay and commercial exposure, but this transcendent duo waited ti

Considering how prolific and inventive Cathy Segal-Garcia has been these past few years, there are not a whole lot more superlatives I can reach for when she puts out another classic inventive jazz-inflected gem that meets our collective moment. Yet the multi-faceted singer, songwriter and vocal interpreter’s latest single “Sermonette” – which follows on the sensual, soulful heels of her equally brilliant, socially conscious romp through Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues (Make

The promotional materials for Evan Troop’s second EP The Next Chapter inform us of some cool background and character defining tidbits – like his parents having met at a music studio in Winnipeg in the 70s and the lyrically insightful hard-driving pop/rocker writing his first songs aboard Merchant Vessels her traveled around the world as a ship’s officer. Additionally, we learn he served 8 years as an officer in the US Naval Reserve. All super impressive for sure, but perhaps

In my review of veteran NYC vocalist Marty Elkins splendid collection Fat Daddy, I mentioned that the term “re-imagining” was too limiting to describe her refreshing approach to classics and obscurities from the early heyday of jazz. The same wonderful easy-reach adjective fail happens when listening to her pure, elegant, colorful and witty twists on songs originating from roughly the same era (1926-47) on , her subtly rendered yet inventively sparkling duet album with famed