Articles by Guy Zinger

Rusty Taylor: Jazz + Country = Southern Comfort

by Guy Zinger
May 18, 2011

Rusty Allen Taylor is an engaging example of a new a new country-jazz, male vocalist. With his touch of country zing, he creates a mix of sweetness and mellowness, on the one hand, and speckles it with dirt, on the other. This bittersweet mix is a parallel to his life and generates a truly unique sound. After 16 years of what Rusty describes as “incarceration in the corporate world," he has made his hobbies into his full-time ...

Dvora Davis: A Simple Affair

by Guy Zinger
December 4, 2010

"There are days in my life when I feel so right... and I just want to sing my song," quoting the opening track of A Simple Affair, “There R Days." The entire CD is soaked with this melancholic yet optimistic mood. A simple affair, that's what it is all about. Dvora Davis and her accomplice, pianist Jochem Julius Braat, convey this feeling throughout the disc--their own creation--with Braat composing and arranging, and Davis in charge of the lyrics. The talented ...

Claudia Acuna Casts Her Flamenco Jazz Spell in Amsterdam

by Guy Zinger
April 18, 2010

Claudia AcunaBimhuisAmsterdam, NetherlandsApril 3, 2010 Much like a modern-day matador, Claudia Acuna took the stage of the Bimhuis, dressed for the occasion. A performer filled with passionate dramatic tension on the one hand and tender jazz intimacy on the other--strength and grace, intertwined. Singer-songwriter Claudia Acuna, born in Santiago, Chile, Acuna began singing music native to her country. At the age of 15 she became acquainted with her musical models--Frank Sinatra, Erroll Garner and Sarah ...

Stephane Spira & Giovanni Mirabassi: Spirabassi

by Guy Zinger
February 15, 2010

Lyrically singing with his soprano sax, telling his story in an album dedicated to his departed father, Stephane Spira and his accomplice, pianist Giovanni Mirabassi, embark on a dreamy and introspective road trip, soaked with melancholy. Spira's father was a colorful character and antiquarian with a mad passion for music, and Spirabassi is imprinted with that character. Spira himself became a full-time jazz man not too many years ago, leaving a successful career in engineering. Mirabassi, playing since the age ...

Margeaux Lampley in Paris

by Guy Zinger
January 31, 2010

Margeaux Lampley Café Universel, Paris January 16th, 2010

As a treat for my 40th birthday, I went for a weekend in Paris to hear Margeaux Lampley. And a treat it was... Margeaux Lampley, born in New York, raised in California and, after practicing law in the U.S., starting her second (artist's) life by coming to Paris, where she has studied and performed jazz for the last two years.

Lampley recorded her debut album Love ...

Deborah Brown Sings a Tribute to Duke Ellington Vocalist Ivie Anderson, Amsterdam

by Guy Zinger
January 1, 2010

Bimhuis Amsterdam, Netherlands December 17th, 2009

Remembering her father's trombone, Deborah Brown used her dark and somewhat husky voice as a perfect musical instrument with brass-like gestures to paint a beautiful picture. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brown has made a name for herself with appearances around the world and many albums. This concert was full of admiration and respect for the incomparable bluesy voice of Ivie Anderson who, though forgotten by many, is ...

Wouter Hamel: Nobody's Tune

by Guy Zinger
December 5, 2009

Wouter Hamel is a young vocalist of Dutch origin, touring the world successfully with his laidback and velvety sound. He surrounds himself with pop harmonies and rhythm lines, bridging the gap between jazz and pop in his own special way. Nobody's Tune, his second CD, is a cross between the musical fields of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Apple, 1967) and a young crooner, with Hamel phrasing his songs and producing his lovely voice in a modern ...

Jacqui Naylor: You Don't Know Jacq

by Guy Zinger
December 2, 2009

You Don't Know Jacq is all about Jacqui Naylor, exemplifying her vocal range, warm voice, interpretive qualities and style--"Acoustic Smashing," which, in essence, means jazz standards done along rock/pop rhythm lines, or vice versa. The disc features new arrangements of the most requested songs from her previous six albums, as well as new material including the first single, “Celebrate Early and Often," now being used for many a wedding across the United States. You Don't Know Jacq is ...