Browsing Tag

Jazz Composer

Eric St. Godard’s Jazz Instrumental ‘Lovely Rose’ Scintillates with Swanky Serendipity

Posted on 21 April 2026

Jazz debonair, Eric St. Godard, exhibited seduction’s capacity to become once again synonymous with style and sophistication through ‘Lovely Rose’. As the opening instrumental score from his debut album, New Beginnings, it doesn’t so much ease you in; the opening salvo scintillates you into the presence of the artist and composer who has earned his stripes as a jazz savant by giving it a truly freeform sense of limitless potential, daring to rile traditionalists, and appealing instead to those who have always wanted an accessible gateway into jazz.

Leave your hat, coat and preconceptions at the door, because Beautiful Rose, in all of its swanky ability to make every new progression feel like a surge of serendipity, pulls you down a rabbit hole of passion instead of dragging you into a pit of pretension. With the way the curveballs hit in the most affectingly satisfying ways, it is almost as though Godard has a psychic intuition into when you want the visceral force of the sax and the smokier cinematic opulence that delivers and demands tenderness.

There is a louche elegance in the arrangement that recalls the sophistication of Chet Baker and the easy magnetism of Duke Ellington’s more decadent moments, while the openness in the phrasing gives the composition a modern accessibility. Every turn of the melody carries a flirtation with spontaneity, and the whole score glides with the kind of suave confidence that turns curiosity into full immersion.

Lovely Rose is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 Inbar Solomon Sextet fused rabbit-hole timbres into front-row escapism in ‘Right on Q ‘

Posted on 15 December 2025

There is a list of accolades that could easily become taller than the Empire State Building trailing behind saxist and composer Inbar Solomon and his Inbar Solomon Sextet as they cement their status as some of NYC’s most prestigious jazz mesmerists. In the live performance of Right on Q at Arnold Hall, his reverence for the expressive art form becomes transfixingly alive. Each instrumental voice is effortlessly synergised with the next, pouring the arrangement so it moves like one fluid motion, each note an extension of the brass-tinged glamour of the genre.

It is a time warp, stripping back the decades and dressing the room in swanky opulence. The way the alto and tenor resist harmony yet still circle around the trombone lets you tumble down the rabbit hole of one of the most scintillating timbre kaleidoscopes you are likely to hear; no bar feels exclusive enough to exclude the Sextet. This piece serves as a reminder of what pure class sounds like.

Originally from Tel Aviv and now rooted in New York, Solomon honed his language at The New School before taking that bebop foundation onto stages from Bern to Jerusalem, and the Brooklyn haunts that shape the city’s current jazz lifeblood. As a bandleader, he writes for interaction and storytelling as much as for chops, which is why Right on Q lands like an invitation into his world of melody-forward, audience-connected improvisation.

The sextet format gives him room to let each player speak while still keeping the lines lucid, so heads who crave intricate horn writing alongside old-school swing energy will find a proper gem here. Right on Q is the kind of performance that makes you want to swap scrolling for a front-row seat.

The Live Performance of Right on Q is now available on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sunim Koria Poured Cinematic Zeal into Their Orchestral Jazz Sophomore Single, ‘Cantata’, Featuring Vikki Rose Taylor

Posted on 27 August 2025
Cantata (feat. Vikki Rose Taylor) by Sunim Koria

The sophomore composition from Sunim Koria features a veritable lineup of virtuosos who formed an ensemble few big bands could rival. In Cantata, the instrumental arrangements behave as though they are acting on impulse, bursting with synergy and reaching a level of fluidity that feels almost impossible to replicate. Rather than merely leaning into that energy, Vikki Rose Taylor’s vocals poured even more zeal into the performance, augmenting the chameleonic showcase of talent that effervesces with cinematic vitality.

As a composer, Koria has already cut his teeth to the sharpest degree, shaping arrangements that nod to the traditions of orchestral jazz while steering them into new territory that sparks with innovation. His work suggests not only technical mastery but also a clear-eyed vision of how to carry jazz forward without losing its soul. Cantata resonates as both a homage and a bold step into the future, embodying a visceral force that proves how much potential lies in his talent if he continues on this trajectory.

Cantata is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Bandcamp. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Guillermo Marigliano Unites Timeworn Soul and Kinetic Jazz Innovation in ‘My New Old Friends’

Posted on 26 May 2025

Guillermo Marigliano brings a kinetic charge to the jazz tradition in ‘My New Old Friends’, letting his guitar strings extend his reverence for the genre beyond the airwaves and into our cultural fabric. Fluid in his stylistic command, Marigliano traverses the shifting territories of jazz, infusing each phrase with tango tempos and South American rhythms, energising his arrangements with a warmth that never cloys. The single bleeds sentiment with intent; each note pulses with a lust for connection, allowing a blossom of newness to flourish within the classic idiom.

The polyphonic keys pulled into the arrangement prove Marigliano’s compositional instinct for innovation without erasing the roots. His decades leading projects such as ‘21st Century Latin Guitar’ and ‘New Latin Fusion Quartet’, releasing eight albums, and performing at international jazz festivals across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, the US, and Belgium, coalesce in the refined confidence found here. As a soloist and collaborator, he has championed the fusion of jazz, tango, and Latin energy, making his output a living testament to the genre’s possibilities.

Off stage, Marigliano’s contributions run deep: composing for award-winning films, serving as an educator at ITMC, publishing authoritative guitar method books, and keeping the pulse of Los Angeles’ jazz scene alive at The Industry Café & Jazz. Now signed to The Sundial Agency, Marigliano continues to draw new connections through his playing, teaching, and creativity, cementing ‘My New Old Friends’ as a meeting point between nostalgia and discovery in contemporary jazz.

‘My New Old Friends’ is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Zach Hodges Bottled an Atomic Glitch in Jazz Fusion Form in ‘Nuclear Muskrat’

Posted on 26 April 2025

Zach Hodges let chaos reign in Nuclear Muskrat and conducted it with a conductor’s cultivated touch and a mad scientist’s curiosity. The 19-year-old Midlands-based musician, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist may be early in his career, but through his LP, Baby Landmark, he’s already proven that genre loyalty is a concept best left in the past.

Hodges, known for his work as a theatre musical director for String Cheese Theatre, his position behind the kit in Midlands jazz trio Head to Head, and his international touring experience, funnelled every inch of his multidisciplinary pedigree into this 7-minute experimental tour de force. Nuclear Muskrat isn’t content to sit still—within its frenetic framework, it flexes polka funk motifs, indietronica laced with avant-garde effects, funked-up disco grooves, blues-drenched riffs, erratic polyphonic keys, and incendiary synth bursts.

While it could have been easy for this to feel like a pure act of self-indulgence, it’s easy to go along with the ride with Hodges as he demonstrates the malleability of sound in a way so seamless it is as though all of the textures, tones and tempos have always been complementary pairings. It’s as though the contemporary history of music has been condensed in the explorative mind-melter that continually pulls the rug and lays down a different one before the last footstep can land.

If you’re always on the hunt for music that challenges mediocrity, Nuclear Muskrat is the ultimate contender.

Nuclear Muskrat is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Seungmin Jung’s ‘Acadia’ Smokes Out Complacency with Sophisticated Jazz Fluidity

Posted on 16 March 2025

For 12 minutes, Seungmin Jung and his virtuosic ensemble take easy listening jazz and give it a smoky revival with Acadia, a composition that reaches the epitome of fluidity. The time signatures refuse to leave room for complacency, locking listeners into a state of mesmerised anticipation. It’s textural tonal alchemy at its finest—low reverberating basslines create a striking contrast against ascending brass notes and the ornate chimes of piano keys, threading together a soundscape as suave as a tailored suit.

Jung’s journey into jazz began in Seoul, where a spontaneous purchase of a double bass at 17 set the course for his future. Now based in New York, he has studied under some of the biggest names in the scene, including Buster Williams and Ingrid Jensen, earning his master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. His career has seen him grace renowned venues from Korea’s Giwon Art Museum to Dizzy’s Jazz Club in New York, and his talent has been recognised with a second-place win at the Hyunsik Kim competition.

Acadia showcases a musician who understands the elegance of timeless jazz while fearlessly pushing its parameters. Jung orchestrates moments of undeniable intrigue, making every shift in tempo feel like a deliberate seduction.

Stream Acadia on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Keys from Neptune Maps the Stars in His Classical Composition ‘Do the Cosmos Think?’

Posted on 8 March 2025

True to his moniker, Keys from Neptune is out of this world in the star-roving classical composition Do the Cosmos Think? Synthesising elegance with wonder, the self-taught San Diego-based pianist visualises the vastness of space in the twilight of the production; each piano key is a starlight illumination in the pitch black that surrounds us. The spatial effects and the intensity of the subtle yet affecting crescendos leave you under no illusion of the composer’s talent.

Words are surplus to requirement in this eloquent reminder of our place in the world, in the galaxy, allowing any anxiety you felt before nestling into the production to feel completely inconsequential. With each note, the ambient jazz artist extends a moment of solace, yet leaves you yearning for the next sanctifying note.

Slowly building his repertoire, Keys from Neptune has already proven his ability to pull listeners into the gravity of his compositions. Do the Cosmos Think? is a celestial reflection set to sound, and the perfect way to introduce yourself to Keys from Neptune’s talent.

Do the Cosmos Think? is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nick Marks Charts New Coordinates in Jazztronica with ‘Current Location’

Posted on 13 February 2025

From the first note of Current Location, Nick Marks and his armada of collaborators pull listeners into an aural cosmos where jazz motifs greet futurism with traditionalism.

Opening Cinematic Chromatics Vol. III, the final instalment of his 3 EP trilogy, Current Location exists in a liminal space where textures shift like constellations, guiding listeners through a field of gravity formed by soul, neo-soul, and jazztronica.

Marks has spent the past two years carving his sonic universe, bridging the underground scenes where jazz, hip-hop, and electronica collide with filmic grandeur. Since its inception in 2020, Cinematic Chromatics has been heralded for its genre-blurring ingenuity, earning Marks acclaim from tastemakers and playlist placements, including Spotify’s Best of Fresh Finds Jazz 2024.

Current Location represents the fluidity of place, time, and sound, drawing from Brazilian influences, lo-fi aesthetics, and orchestral sophistication. The track’s inception came as Marks walked through Manhattan, melodies forming in response to the rhythms of the city, later fleshed out with electric bassist CARRTOONS, vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu, and pianist Benjamin Furman.

The soulful yet spacey non-lexical vocals harbour accessibility in the mix, reassuring that, despite the technical chops underpinning the track, pretension is absent. This is pure rhythmic expression, allowing listeners to traverse the same sonic pathways as its creators. The polyphonic tones heighten the groove’s ecstatic zeal, but the crescendos, reaching the epitome of seraphic euphonia, steal the spotlight.

Current Location is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

David Seymour Offers Sonic Solace with His Jazz EP, Shelter

Posted on 30 January 2025

David Seymour’s What a Life, the anchor track from his Shelter EP, figuratively and titularly delivers sanctuary to jazz fans. This smooth resistance against the monocultural mould allows the instrumentals to speak a universal language through their warm timbres and lushly arranged intricate time signatures. Meanwhile, the dreamy reverie within the female vocals seduces listeners further into the all-encompassing soundscape, letting the textural bliss sprawl around them like a tender aural caress.

The North London songwriter and composer draws from a well-travelled life that has seen him immersed in the musical traditions of North America, Mexico, and Europe before settling in London to collaborate with African and South American musicians. The broad palette of influences—including Afro-Latin rhythms, Celtic folk, classical compositions, and 70s icons like Coltrane and Monk—finds its voice in Seymour’s work, but it’s jazz that serves as his creative compass.

While What a Life offers a singularly rich experience, the Shelter EP as a whole invites listeners to explore Seymour’s versatility and skill as he channels his deft, succinct, and sonorous touch into various forms of jazz. For the full catharsis fix, stream the 5-track EP in its entirety and allow the lush arrangements and intricately embellished instrumentation to envelop you. Whether through the warmth of its timbres or the universal resonance of its message, Shelter succeeds in delivering on its promise of musical sanctuary.

Stream Shelter in full via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tong Cherd delivered a jazz funk-infused shot of adrenaline with ‘CAFF’

Posted on 18 January 2025

Tong Cherd’s instrumental single, CAFF, is as energising as its namesake, delivering a riotous fusion of jazz, funk, and soul that’s impossible to ignore. From the moment the lines of slapped bass hit, it’s clear this isn’t just a groove-heavy funk track—it’s a masterclass in dynamic composition. The melodic bass riffs are elevated further by Augie Bello’s sax riffs, creating a rich interplay of textures that buzzes with kinetic energy.

Cherd, a Thai-born bassist now based in NYC, has carved out a reputation for his melodic sensibilities and aggressive slap bass technique. A graduate of Shobi Music College and The New School, Cherd has collaborated with a wide range of artists across genres, including Augie Bello and Cory Wong. With CAFF, he flexes his virtuosic muscles, layering bold bass solos and rhythmically intricate percussion over soulful rock undertones.

The track doesn’t just coast on its up-tempo energy. Every element—from the smoky outro to the punchy crescendos—exhilarates while showcasing Cherd’s skill. As the sonic journey winds down, the smoky soul infusion ensures that even when you’re through with the track, the earworm laid down by the rhythmatist isn’t through with you.

Add it to your playlists and you may not need your Starbucks order on your morning commute.

CAFF was officially released on January 17th; stream the single on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast