rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Blending tasteful, not to mention soulful, touches of jazz with driving, funk-infused grooves, seamless changes of pace, violins playing the part usually reserved for the guitar and mellifluous melodicism, Breeze is a gorgeous and unique song. One which goes out of its way to remind us that jazz isn’t a dirty word, that funk can... Continue Reading →
The term “smooth jazz” often comes with all sorts of expectant sonic baggage, conjuring pictures of cliched lounge acts and ambient lift music, at least to those who haven’t explored the genre enough or discovered where its real charms lie. Exploring any new genre is about finding the artist and the music which best typifies... Continue Reading →
In a world always looking for the next new creative path, it is wonderful to come across a group of musicians happy to celebrate the past. Jazz has always been okay with that though, revelling in its own standards, classics and popular tunes and then re-exploring them and keeping them fresh through reinterpretation and fine-tuning... Continue Reading →
It isn’t so much the case that Sebastian Reynolds hops genres or even attempts to merge them like some sort of sonic alchemist, it is more that he floats without concern above them. And whilst you could make a good argument for elements of avant-garde classical, trip-hop, free jazz and ambient experimentation all finding their... Continue Reading →
I’m not one to venture into the territory of smooth jazz all that often, but as the sunlight streams through into the office dappling the keyboard and my view through the window is one of green trees, blue skies and the slight haze as the heat hits the tarmac, Smooth It Out feels like the... Continue Reading →
They say you should write about what you know. The same is true in music. If you are looking for something honest and heartfelt, authentic and meaningful, then what better to write about than your own life. And whilst you could argue that most artists do this to a degree, most do it to a... Continue Reading →
Germany had a huge, life shattering, impact on the world during the last century, obviously some good and some bad (putting it mildly), from the impact of Bauhaus and the Dada art movement to the post-war involvement in electronic music and the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1990’s. It’s safe to say Germany... Continue Reading →
It’s difficult to pitch an album such as this. It’s an accumulation of lots of parts, when you consider the album is essentially a live recording of a jazz band being supported by a big band (Ricky-Tick Big Band Brass), oh and the main pull is a sax player from Finland, you’ll be forgiven for... Continue Reading →
The world is fashioned as much by the millions of seemingly small decisions that individuals make every day as it is by national policy and global movements. It is fair to say that Gary Palmer’s decision to wrap up his career in law enforcement to return to his early passion of making music was one... Continue Reading →