Browsing Tag

jazz

Interview: Amadour melts our hearts on Western Movie Dream

After impressing our team with a glowing review to calm all anxious hearts, the incomparable storyteller Amadour is rather tremendously open and shall warm all cold souls whilst detailing life in Reno, family support, and the vision behind the dreamy new 5-track EP, Western Movie Dream.

Llewelyn: Hello Amadour, We truly appreciate you chatting with us all about your new release. Firstly, do you recall the first time you knew music was what you wanted to do as a living?

Amadour: My goal is to be a great storyteller, travel with my work, and share music with others abroad. As I build my audience, I am considering innovative ways of making a sophisticated show that keeps it simple and stripped down with just the piano and vocals for an intimate venue like a theater. I come from a visual arts background, so I often think about the colors, temperature, and emotions of music while writing.

Llewelyn: Please tell us all about your fantastic new EP, Western Movie Dream. What is the vision behind the project and how was the creative process?

Amadour: The idea behind Western Movie Dream is to share a bit of biographical history from my life growing up in Reno, Nevada, and Sausalito, California, and the angst of young love. I wrote these songs for someone I fell head over heels for, and our story is embedded throughout the lyrics. In “Before Grapes Ripen,” I love the verse “and the shadow of clouds on cursive pages.” It’s so daydreamy, and I wrote it while sitting on the steps of Russian Hill in San Francisco, looking at the Golden Gate Bridge. “Two Hands Holding Me” is a song that describes the unbelievable joy of having someone that’s into you as much as you are into them. I would wander around, imagining falling in love as a teenager, and then one day, it hit me that that was my experience as an adult; that’s where the line, “in my adolescent heart across the bay, the dreamer is fully awake,” comes in. I think “Western Movie Dream” is my Nevada song because my love interest at the time and I met at an art museum, and the line “as we gaze across the Blue” is about Lake Tahoe.

Llewelyn: Who has supported you most during your music career and what do you enjoy most about being on stage?

Amadour: I owe everything to my mother and my family. My vocal coach, Max Lawrence, trains me for future performances and singing live. He’s a musical vocal genius along with his dad, Don Lawrence. I love fashion and use it to make an impactful stage presence. My taste draws from my mentor Gladys Tamez, who designs all the hats I wear; I love hats! I also take a lot of outfit inspiration from Saint Laurent, Schiaparelli, and Tom Ford – I am a black-on-black and gold type of person.

Llewelyn: Bay Area. What was it like growing up here and do you have any memorable memories you’d like to share with us?

Amadour: One of my favorite places is the Marin Headlands and Mount Tamalpais. There are redwood forests, including the famous Muir Woods, and my best memories are of the walking paths where I like to hike. I also love to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge with my mom. Every morning when I lived in Sausalito, I would run back and forth as a workout.

Llewelyn: Reno, Nevada. How is the music scene here and which venues would you recommend to us?

Amadour: Oh, Reno! I love the Holland Project, which is intimate and shows newer acts, and also, the casinos have theaters that host more established acts. Tahoe also had a fantastic festival called SnowGlobe that MTV ran. The impact of Burning Man, a few hours north of Reno in the Blach Rock Desert, brings many musicians and concerts into town. I performed at every open mic in town as a teenager, and I would drive around with my keyboard to jazz clubs and old western saloons in Carson City.

Llewelyn: Please tell us more about the producers you worked with on your new project and how did you link up?

Amadour: A big thank you to Nick Rosen for sound engineering this body of work and being so talented. We used the Electro-Voice RE20 microphone Chet Baker used to record my vocals and an upright in Nick’s studio in Los Feliz. I am also working on new projects with Daniel Cullen at Just For The Record in Los Angeles and Jordan Koop and Terry Ondang at The Noise Floor on Vancouver Island in Canada this summer.

Llewelyn: Lastly, what is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Amadour: My uncle, Domingo Tibaduiza, is a four-time Olympic marathon runner from Colombia, who I look up to. He advised me to follow the “four D’s” of success, desire, dedication, determination, and discipline; this is my mission statement.

Hear this wonderful EP on Spotify.

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Interview by Llewelyn Screen

The jazz virtuoso John Sheckler, is back in the New Orleans swing in 50 Ring Gauge

Highway 27 by Jon Sheckler

Taken from his forthcoming LP, HIGHWAY 27, the award-winning composer and percussionist Jon Sheckler’s latest single, 50 Ring Gauge, enriched the New Orleans jazz scene with swinging contemporary flair and nuanced tenacity.

The steady rattle and roll of his drum fills punctuate the rockabilly guitar tones, which meander through the release with an almost Stray Cat Strut while the basslines take a backseat in the rhythmical masterclass of innovation.

HIGHWAY 27 has been five years in the making; in September 2023, the LP will finally follow his critically acclaimed 2018 album, Cityscapes. Between composing the album, Sheckler received a Downbeat Student Music Award for his composition, Medicine Leaves, in 2021, he was also chosen as one of three ASCAP Louis Armstrong Scholars in the States. It is safe to say accolades don’t get more revered than that.

50 Ring Gauge is now available to stream and download on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK jazz singer, Chris Weeks, is sublime enough to seduce Sinatra with ‘I Only Have Eyes for You’

Chris Weeks

With crooning vocals sublime enough to seduce Sinatra, the latest feat of easy listening, I Only Have Eyes for You, from the jazz singer Chris Weeks, is a cinematically smooth affirmation of why he’s come to be renowned as one of the most talented figures in the UK jazz scene.

Soulful catharsis is scarcely as fervently profound as Weeks’ reimagining of the 1960s single by the Flamingos. While it would be blasphemous to insinuate the original is anything but arresting in its dreamy, almost ethereal resonance, Weeks effortlessly succeeded in instilling more ardour into the lyrics and vocals while the loungey jazz keys, sax lines and teasing percussive fills take a sonic backseat.

So far in his career, Chris Weeks has performed as the male vocalist for the Oxford University Jazz Orchestra, created a viral sensation with his collaborative single, 100 Years, which has amassed 13 million streams. Something tells us that the best is yet to come.

I Only Have Eyes for You will be officially released on June 16; check it out on Chris Weeks’ official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ease the Pain: Sound Liberation are at its brilliant best on Time Does Not Bring Relief

Taken off the brand new 10-track album and 9th studio release called Better Now, Sound Liberation are rather excellent on the brand new single to hug our heart, Time Does Not Bring Relief.

Led by composer/rapper Gene Pritsker, Sound Liberation is a Composers Concordance Records-signed indie band that loves to explore soul, jazz, RnB and so much more with glorious energy.

Delighting all senses into a much better planet away from all the smoggy confusion, Sound Liberation has made a special single which will ease the mood of millions. This is must-listen stuff, which is a comforting release which will please those who love an old-school single made with scintillating significance.

Time Does Not Bring Relief from the USA music-fusion project Sound Liberation is a rather superb display from excellent musicians who seem to only get better like fine wine. Delightfully true to their craft and calming all scared cats into a zone of mellowness, this is a stunning effort made with an expert appeal.

If the day has been tough, this is the kind of release to soak in a hot bath with the volume on full.

Turn up more good vibes on Spotify.

See the vibrant adventures on Twitter.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

I Want To Be The Shining Star: Emily Luke-Taylor dazzles mightily with 2nd single Close To You

Sensing that this is her time to be with someone so pure and kind in an often cold world, Emily Luke-Taylor locks her eyes on her lover and shall remain in eyesight for as long as possible with the stunner to play on maximum volume, Close To You.

Emily Luke-Taylor is a refreshing UK-based indie singer-songwriter who somehow fuses beautiful melodies with pop, jazz and electronica in a style which will have many pressing repeat.

Jolting our emotions and giving us all something to think about, Emily Luke-Taylor performs so wonderfully and shows us what caring music sounds like. This is a romantic message for the betterment of modern-day society. Why? It shows us that true love does still exist.

Close To You from the multi-talented London, UK artist Emily Luke-Taylor is a you-feel-so-true track to vibe with forever when those dark clouds threaten to ruin everything. Sung so beautifully and featuring intricate melodies and goodness, this is the perfect wake-me-up track to bring in pure energies.

Turn this up on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

The Frost Duo “French Blues” – Don’t Bring Me Down

The Frost Duo’s “French Blues” is a timeless piece that takes you on a nostalgic journey through jazz and soft rock, with a modern twist. The smooth and sultry vocals of LeahBeth Evans are the perfect complement to Christian Gratz’s masterful instrumental work. The track’s classic backing track sound takes us back to the golden era of rock and blues clubs in the 1990s, while the incorporation of modern synth elements adds a fresh, innovative twist.

The addition of legendary studio guitarist Thom Rotella and former “Starbuck” synthesist/keyboardist David Shaver brings a depth of experience and expertise to the track, elevating it to a whole new level. The guitar work is particularly noteworthy, with Rotella’s virtuosity shining through in every note. The track’s well-arranged structure, with its smooth transitions and perfect pacing, keeps the listener engaged from start to finish.

The Frost Duo’s love for jazz shines through in “French Blues,” showcasing the group’s versatility and talent in playing music in a variety of genres. The track is a testament to the group’s ability to blend different musical styles seamlessly, creating a unique and captivating sound that sets them apart from other jazz groups. “French Blues” is a must-listen for anyone who loves the smooth sounds of jazz and the nostalgic vibes of soft rock. The Frost Duo has truly outdone themselves with this one.

Just Like Honey: Maya’s Radio Orchestra Let the Light in with her jazz blues rendezvous, Suntrap

Maya’s Radio Orchestra brought sun-bleached luminosity by the smorgasbord with her latest baroquely beguiling single, Suntrap. Just as the sun illuminates dust when it hits a room, the radiance in Suntrap through the honeyed vocals and swirling harps suspend the dusty underground jazz bars while the piano arrangement underpins the warm arrangement; contributed to by producer Lauren Gilmour’s scintillating synth lines. With the dreamy and lofty drum fills bringing a lemon slice of Portishead-reminiscent glamour, Suntrap becomes a sonic plateau that you will want to visit time and time again.

Maya says: “When I wrote this song, it was the end of February, and the midst of a very long dark, damp, Glasgow winter, and I was feeling very down. We underestimate how difficult the winter in Scotland can be, all whilst having to continue with our day-to-day lives as if we’re not affected by nature and the lack of sunlight.

Writing this song was my way of processing this uncomfortable realisation that capitalism and the need for productivity are incompatible with our human nature and that it’s having a detrimental effect on our communal mental health.”

Maya is a Glasgow-based British-Nepali singer-songwriter, harpist, pianist and vocalist. She is highly revered for her texturally intricate harmonies, which cathartically coalesce with her classy instrumentation and lyricality that unravels as conceptually philosophical poetry.

The sun will hit the airwaves on May 3rd. Stream Suntrap on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Andelo made an irresistible jazz-pop plea in ‘Take it Easy on Me’

Easy listening has never been easier than slipping into the superlative slice of jazz, Take it Easy on Me, from the artist and producer, Andelo. It is a far jazz pop cry from Andelo’s internationally accoladed and celebrated former releases, which pay homage to 80s pop and rock anthems, but there’s no doubt that jazz-pop is also one of his wheelhouses. His signature theatrical flair is more nuanced in the jazzy ensemble, but it resounds all the same, especially when the swooning sax lines proliferate the single with seduction.

The flourishing piano keys, bluesy guitar licks and steady percussive fills tightly enmesh to deliver a sensuously mellifluous platform for the featuring female vocalist’s vulnerable harmonies that project the fear of getting burned in a new relationship when you can still feel the sting of old flames dying out. We’ve all been there; few can allude to the sensation as soulfully.

Take it Easy on Me is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jazz pianist legend Marcio Garcia is at his graceful best on Nocturnal

Featuring 2x Grammy award-winning conga player Giovanni Hidalgo, Marcio Garcia is at his majestic best with an ear-calming melody to play all night as the rain flows cheekily from gutters on Nocturnal.

Marcio Garcia is a multi-talented Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-born jazz pianist, composer and educator who was classically trained at various prestigious institutions.

Marcio has performed at the Festival de Jazz Restauración Santo Domingo, White Plains Jazz Festival, Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival, Five Points Jazz Festival, Dazzle Jazz Club, Carnegie Hall, Blue Note NYC, Nublu, The Bitter End, Birdland Jazz Club and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in Lincoln Center.” ~ Marcio Garcia

Known as a prolific creative who has performed on some of the best stages, Brooklyn-based Marcio Garcia is radiant here and shall cause some blushes to project out from the deepest part of our souls. This is spellbinding stuff from a true master of his craft, who has blessed all tired hearts with something rather special. Just what the world needs more of right?

Calm all worries away on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Angolan-Portuguese artist Dabie Simul impresses with the wonderfully catchy FOGO

With a cheeky and cute giggle to start off proceedings, Dabie Simul shall spark a ray of sunshine to emerge even if there are dark clouds brewing like a volcano on the sexy new single FOGO.

Dabie Simul is an Angolan-born, Portuguese music artist and student who blends jazz, soul, afro sounds and hip-hop into her introspective creations.

The pure essence of who I’m choosing to be in this present moment.” ~ Dabie describing her new sound

Startling all innocent ears with a lovely single to hold tightly, Dabie Simul is on top form with a tremendously instinctive soundtrack. She sends our hearts into a whirlwind of emotions on a rather magnetic single to dance with all night.

FOGO from Angolan-born, Portuguese musician Dabie Simul is a rather catchy experience for the betterment of current society. Sung rather marvellously and with a  smile never far away, all moods are flipped over like a pancake on this gem of a single. Featuring positive vibes and loads of imagination to swim deeply into, this is a delightful track to simmer sweetly into.

Listen up on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen