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Mike Rocha
Judy Whitmore: Isn't It Romantic
by Richard J Salvucci
"Take a page out of Judy Whitmore's playbook for life, and be inspired by a true modern-day Renaissance woman--cabaret and recording artist, best-selling author, and licensed jet pilot--whose passion for adventure has audiences and readers across America abandoning their fears and reawakening to long-forgotten dreams and new desires." Thus Judy Whitmore, her web page. Ms. Whitmore, you may gather, is not a professional jazz singer Of course, it would be hard to know what exactly qualifies someone as ...
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by Jack Bowers
Sometimes it is a pleasure to listen to an album simply because the quality of the music is so consistently gratifying. And if the music is sung as well as Judy Whitmore sings it on Isn't It Romantic, well, that is icing on the cake, as are the superb performances by her supporting cast, especially pianist Tamir Hendelman and saxophonist Rickey Woodard. The music is taken for the most part from the Great American Songbook, and much ...
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by Pierre Giroux
It seems that for most singers at some point in their career, delving into the Great American Songbook is de rigueur." And why is that? Perhaps it's because the melodies are captivating, the lyrics are meaningful, and the quality of the compositions has proven to be timeless. In any event singer Judy Whitmore has added her name to that long list of vocalists who have taken the up the challenge with her third release. There are ...
read moreJustin Chart: The Midnight People
by Hrayr Attarian
Saxophonist Justin Chart is an inventive and versatile musician who spontaneously creates mellifluous and enthralling soundscapes. Leading a synergistic band of like-minded sidemen. Chart excels in live improvisations that are simultaneously free as well as charmingly accessible. His output in the third decade of the century has been prolific without sacrificing artistic vision. The Midnight People is Chart's third release of 2022 and continues the trend started in its predecessors.The title track, for instance, simmers with a soulfulness ...
read moreJustin Chart: The Scarlet Jazz Room
by Kyle Simpler
Improvisation is one of the key elements of jazz, and it isomething listeners expect to hear in most performances. However, it is often a part of the overall composition, which is based around a central melody. But saxophonist Justin Chart takes improvisation a step further with The Scarlet Jazz Room. This album relies almost entirely on improvisation, and the result is quite impressive. Some might assume that this amount of improvisation would suggest that it's some sort of ...
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by Hrayr Attarian
Justin Chart is an award winning singer-songwriter and an accomplished jazz saxophonist. On his spontaneously created pieces Chart often collaborates with a rotating cast of like-minded sidemen. The resulting music is as sophisticated and intricately structured as carefully notated compositions. Chart, once again, showcases his unique artistic approach with the cinematic and enchanting The Scarlet Jazz Room. Chart's unaccompanied, soulful alto opens Shape of My Shade." As the four piece rhythm section enters, the piece simmers with passion. ...
read moreGordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band: The Reset
by Jack Bowers
Gordon Goodwin's dynamic Big Phat Band rumbles back onto the scene with The Reset, a somewhat less-than-big-phat album whose dual purpose, according to Goodwin, is to express hope and gratitude in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic and to honor one of Goodwin's mentors, the late Sammy Nestico. Goodwin calls the album an EP, whose twenty-eight minute playing time places it in roughly the same ballpark as a vinyl LP from the good old days before digital recording and streaming. ...
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The Reset
From: The ResetBy Mike Rocha