Review - B.D. Lenz : Hit It and Quit It November 28, 2009 - Bernard Davidson Lenz (more known as B.D. Lenz) is no ordinary guitarist, as he has a background in mathematics. So when you blend the maths’ logic to that of music, you end up with tracks composed and arranged in a quite precise and structured way. B.D. Lenz’s sixth album, ‘’Hit It and Quit’’ is an interesting project exploring sounds and musical arrangements nurtured by the influences of guitar masters Pat Metheny, Mike Stern (with whom he studied) and Steve Ray Vaughan. The result is a collection of nine original compositions shattering the boundaries of various musical genres and fusing contemporary jazz, rock (Lenz’s earlier influences such as rock luminaries Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix . More
Review - Elan Trotman - This Time Around by Kari Graham September 8, 2009 - Discovering a new artist has its merits. There is nothing wrong with getting another take on great music and my Smooth Jazz collection can always get fatter.
Elan Trotman serves up everything he's learned so far on "This Time Around," and it turns out he's taken lots of notes. Inspired by Arturo Tappin, Grover Washington Jr, and Kirk Whalum, Trotman stays well within the Smooth Jazz boundaries on this, his fourth album.
Review – Tim Bowman: Tim Bowman by Akbar Nour September 6, 2009 - Tim Bowman honours the club of fine Smooth Jazz guitarists with his sophisticated and vibrant playing style again. This elegant self-titled collection, Bowman’s fifth, entails twelve tracks (original compositions and covers). The musician has also some noticed savoir-faire in terms of nicely crafted musical arrangements blending expressive ballads and more bouncy urban jazz tracks.
More
Review - Rick Braun - All It Takes by Paul Ericson August. 1 , 2009 – If you like Smooth Jazz then you know Rick Braun. Let’s see there are his highly successful solo CDs, projects with Boney James (Shake It Up), or Kirk Whalum & Norman Brown (BWB), and 2007’s Richard Elliot chart topping collaboration (RnR). But did you also know he has also written songs for Rick Springfield, REO Speedwagon, Tina Turner, Glenn Frey, Natalie Cole, Tom Petty and War too? I’ve always appreciate Braun.More
Review – Curtis Haywood : Curtis Haywood by Akbar Nour August 1, 2009 - Saxophonist Curtis Haywood has taken the Smooth Jazz stage by storm with his exciting classy eponymous debut album, that entails twelve sizzling tracks (eight original compositions and four covers of R&B classics). Legendary sax performers Grover Washington Jr. and David Sanborn had very key influences on Haywood and helped him craft his passionate way of performing his horn. For Haywood, music should have healing aspects and act as a catalyst for positive change worldwide. More
Review – Cindy Bradley: Bloomby Akbar Nour July 23, 2009 - New-York based trumpet player Cindy Bradley released her self-produced debut album “Just A Little Bit” in 2007. This album blended groovy tracks to nicely arranged soft sentimental tunes. And the recipe worked quite well, as this talented stage-oriented trumpet player made her way through the trumpet stage, mainly dominated by male performers. This young artist holds a Bachelor degree in jazz studies and a Master degree in jazz performance. She has studied and worked with top jazz musicians such as John McNeil, Cecil McBee and Jerry Bergonzi.More
Review - Joe McBride — Lookin’ For A Changeby Ronald Jackson July 15, 2009 - Huh? was a word that popped into my head when I first learned of this latest effort, “Lookin’ For A Change,” by veteran pianist/vocalist Joe McBride. Wow! quickly replaced that one word when I heard his cool and innovative approach to pop tunes wearing the face of straight-ahead jazz. Clever... and, simply put, it works. More
Weather Channel Nixes Smooth Jazz – Let’s Celebrate! July 15, 2009 – When I heard that U.S. cable network the Weather Channel had cut Smooth Jazz from playing in the background I was relieved. Anyone who plays you consciously in the background is not doing you any favors. Sure mid-day listening for most Smooth Jazz stations is usually huge and often in the background .... More
Review – Katisse: Lyrical Workerby Akbar Nour July 14, 2009 - Katisse Buckingham (more known as Katisse) belongs to the small circle of musicians drawing relevant bridges between various musical styles: hip-hop/rap, world music and contemporary/smooth jazz. He is not only a talented multi-horn player (tenor, alto and soprano saxophones; flute, alto flute, and ethnic flutes), but also a solid word spoken/rap performer. More
Review – Jay Soto - Mesmerisedby Akbar Nour July 10, 2009 - Sensational guitarist Jay Soto released his second album “Stay Awhile” in 2007. It was a pleasant surprise and quickly made its way up to the smooth jazz charts. However everybody had to wait a while for the Phoenix-based guitarist to come back.
Indeed Soto puts the musical bar very high with eleven original compositions packed with elegance and virtuosity. More
Review– Patrick Yandall – A New Dayby Fran Samuel July 10, 2009 - I must be honest, up until a short while ago; I didn’t know who Patrick Yandall was. Had never heard his name, had never heard his music. Last year, I listened to his ‘Laws of Groovity.”At the time, I thought, well let me check out this ‘new artist.’ Little did I know that he had such an extensive and impressive résumé and was only ‘new’ to me. More
Review - Craig Chaquico - Follow the Sun June 28, 2009 – Any major talent has to pay some dues, whether it be playing the small dark metropolitan clubs or on the banks of the steamy Muddy Mississippi River.
World Class guitarist Craig Chaquico has paid his dues in the music industry and played on all the stages. More
Review - Jonathan Fritzen - VIP June 27, 2009 - A wave of fresh air from Sweden came last year onto the Smooth Jazz stage with “Love Birds,” the debut album of 26-year old pianist Jonathan Fritzen. This year this musically refreshing Scandinavian breeze is back with the latest release of Fritzen’s second highly anticipated album, “VIP.” More
Review: Philippe Saisse - At The World’s Edge (by Paul Ericson) May 5, 2009 - I have always read liner notes on CDs closely and found some great artists in doing so, such is the case with French born keyboardist/pianist Philippe Saisse. His impressive credits include sideman work with Gary Burton, David Bowie, Al DiMeola, Al Jarreau and David Sanborn. More
Review: Zap Mama – ReCreation (by Ronald Jackson) April 25 2009 - I have to admit that I don’t visit the area of music that some might regard as an obvious left turn off “Smooth Jazz Ave” as often as I could, but when I do, I usually run into a special treat! More
Review: Oli Silk—The Limit’s The Sky (by Ronald Jackson) April 19, 2009 - O.k., so The Limit’s The Sky is no longer just hot out of the studio. It’s been around for a couple or so months…but HOT it is nonetheless. Keyboardist Oli Silk’s second colossal hit album should have come as no surprise. More
Review: De’ Nate’—Reminisce (by Ronald Jackson) April 16, 2009 - I’ve listened to and reviewed a wide spectrum of pretty impressive artists and releases over the past few years, and I always marvel at the new and exceptional finds. Here is yet another. This is a truly atypical, exceptional, and superior collaboration. More
Review: Gabriel (Mark Hasselbach) – Cool Down April 8, 2009 – It’s often been asked, what ever happened to the cool in Smooth Jazz? That ‘top-down,’ slick, wind in your hair, melody based driving music. Sure, Smooth Jazz has enough grooves to kill the biggest shaded cat but, where’s the cool? More
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Corinne Bailey Rae Aiming to Ignore Opinions of Others January 28, 2010 - It's a natural step for any artist to eventually walk away from ones reputation. After all our reputation is someone else's job, not ours, and, as we all know, reputation sometimes has nothing to do with the truth. More
Top Jazz Musicians Show David Sanborn Nothing But Love January 27, 2010 – It’s a love-fest at the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards. The tributes are pouring in for David Sanborn, this year’s recipient of the George Benson Lifetime Achievement Award. Benson, who won the first honor and has since had the award named after him, was the first to tip his hat to Sanborn, More
Boney James Searches the Net for New Singers January 25, 2010 – Grammy nominated sax man Boney James has a new mission. Looking forward to his next album James is looking for a few good singers and he plans on using the web to find some new hot talent. More
November 28, 2009 - Bernard Davidson Lenz (more known as B.D. Lenz) is no ordinary guitarist, as he has a background in mathematics. So when you blend the maths’ logic to that of music, you end up with tracks composed and arranged in a quite precise and structured way. B.D. Lenz’s sixth album, ‘’Hit It and Quit’’ is an interesting project exploring sounds and musical arrangements nurtured by the influences of guitar masters Pat Metheny, Mike Stern (with whom he studied) and Steve Ray Vaughan. The result is a collection of nine original compositions shattering the boundaries of various musical genres and fusing contemporary jazz, rock (Lenz’s earlier influences such as rock luminaries Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix . 
September 8, 2009 - Discovering a new artist has its merits. There is nothing wrong with getting another take on great music and my Smooth Jazz collection can always get fatter.
September 6, 2009 - Tim Bowman honours the club of fine Smooth Jazz guitarists with his sophisticated and vibrant playing style again. This elegant self-titled collection, Bowman’s fifth, entails twelve tracks (original compositions and covers). The musician has also some noticed savoir-faire in terms of nicely crafted musical arrangements blending expressive ballads and more bouncy urban jazz tracks.
August 1, 2009 - Saxophonist Curtis Haywood has taken the Smooth Jazz stage by storm with his exciting classy eponymous debut album, that entails twelve sizzling tracks (eight original compositions and four covers of R&B classics). Legendary sax performers Grover Washington Jr. and David Sanborn had very key influences on Haywood and helped him craft his passionate way of performing his horn. For Haywood, music should have healing aspects and act as a catalyst for positive change worldwide. 
July 15, 2009 - Huh? was a word that popped into my head when I first learned of this latest effort, “Lookin’ For A Change,” by veteran pianist/vocalist Joe McBride. Wow! quickly replaced that one word when I heard his cool and innovative approach to pop tunes wearing the face of straight-ahead jazz. Clever... and, simply put, it works. .jpg)
July 15, 2009 – When I heard that U.S. cable network the Weather Channel had cut Smooth Jazz from playing in the background I was relieved. Anyone who plays you consciously in the background is not doing you any favors. Sure mid-day listening for most Smooth Jazz stations is usually huge and often in the background .... 
July 14, 2009 - Katisse Buckingham (more known as Katisse) belongs to the small circle of musicians drawing relevant bridges between various musical styles: hip-hop/rap, world music and contemporary/smooth jazz. He is not only a talented multi-horn player (tenor, alto and soprano saxophones; flute, alto flute, and ethnic flutes), but also a solid word spoken/rap performer. 
July 10, 2009 - Sensational guitarist 
July 10, 2009 - I must be honest, up until a short while ago; I didn’t know who Patrick Yandall was. Had never heard his name, had never heard his music. Last year, I listened to his ‘Laws of Groovity.”At the time, I thought, well let me check out this ‘new artist.’ Little did I know that he had such an extensive and impressive résumé and was only ‘new’ to me. 
June 28, 2009 – Any major talent has to pay some dues, whether it be playing the small dark metropolitan clubs or on the banks of the steamy Muddy Mississippi River. 
June 27, 2009 - A wave of fresh air from Sweden came last year onto the Smooth Jazz stage with “Love Birds,” the debut album of 26-year old pianist Jonathan Fritzen. This year this musically refreshing Scandinavian breeze is back with the latest release of Fritzen’s second highly anticipated album, “VIP.” 
May 5, 2009 - I have always read liner notes on CDs closely and found some great artists in doing so, such is the case with French born keyboardist/pianist Philippe Saisse. His impressive credits include sideman work with Gary Burton, David Bowie, Al DiMeola, Al Jarreau and David Sanborn. 
April 25 2009 - I have to admit that I don’t visit the area of music that some might regard as an obvious left turn off “Smooth Jazz Ave” as often as I could, but when I do, I usually run into a special treat! 
April 19, 2009 - O.k., so The Limit’s The Sky is no longer just hot out of the studio. It’s been around for a couple or so months…but HOT it is nonetheless. Keyboardist Oli Silk’s second colossal hit album should have come as no surprise. 
April 8, 2009 – It’s often been asked, what ever happened to the cool in Smooth Jazz? That ‘top-down,’ slick, wind in your hair, melody based driving music. Sure, Smooth Jazz has enough grooves to kill the biggest shaded cat but, where’s the cool? 
January 28, 2010 - It's a natural step for any artist to eventually walk away from ones reputation. After all our reputation is someone else's job, not ours, and, as we all know, reputation sometimes has nothing to do with the truth. 
January 27, 2010 – It’s a love-fest at the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards. The tributes are pouring in for David Sanborn, this year’s recipient of the George Benson Lifetime Achievement Award. Benson, who won the first honor and has since had the award named after him, was the first to tip his hat to Sanborn, 
January 25, 2010 – Grammy nominated sax man Boney James has a new mission. Looking forward to his next album James is looking for a few good singers and he plans on using the web to find some new hot talent.