NEW RELEASES - BOB JAMES, DUDUKA DA FONSECA TRIO , DANA

BOB JAMES - RHODES SCHOLAR: JAZZ-FUNK CLASSICS 1974-1982

Great work from a player who's maybe one of the best cats ever to handle a Fender Rhodes – and certainly one of the few who really helped push it strongly in jazz during the 70s! The package is a wonderful look at all that's great about Bob James – and brings together all the best tracks from James' years at CTI and Tappan Zee – including some of his most-sampled cuts, each of them a heavenly helping of Fender Rhodes! The set also features some great numbers from later albums that are less classic, but which still have these wonderful nuggets – and even a rare single from Italy too. Production is great, and notes are penned by Andrew Mason of Wax Poetics – who also helped produce the set too. 22 tracks in all – including "Valley Of The Shadows", "Nautilus", "Storm King", "Tappan Zee", "Heads", "Night Crawler", "You're As Right As Rain", "Take Me To The Mardi Gras", "Farandole", "Westchester Lady", "Look Alike", "The Steamin Feelin", "Angela (Taxi)", "I Wand To Thank You", "Caribbean Nights", and "Take Me To The Mardi Gras (7" edit)". ~ Dusty Groove

DUDUKA DA FONSECA TRIO - NEW SAMBA JAZZ DIRECTIONS

Drummer Duduka Da Fonseca is the leader here, but what impresses us most with the record is the album's great piano from David Feldman – a player with a fluid, soulful sound that really grabs us right away – a sense of scope and space that brings a subtle sort of majesty to the record, even if it's in different ways you might expect from the "samba jazz" title! Instead, Feldman holds sway on the keys with a commanding touch that's maybe post-McCoy Tyner, but which has some more intimate moments too – a quality that resonates wonderfully with the depth of Guti Wirtti's bass work – which is also quite a force in the record too. Duduka's drums round things out nicely, with a jagged feel that keeps the rhythms interesting – and titles include "Solito", "Zelao", "Isabella", "Alana", "Samblues", "Bad Relation", "Tete", and "Sonho De Maria". ~, Dusty Groove

DANA - LOVE, DANA

Jazz-Pop singer Dana has released her seven-track extended play record titled Love, Dana today. This sultry 50s-era throwback brings pieces of classic jazz and cinema to the forefront of the contemporary music scene. With a vibrato like Sarah Vaughan and chops reminiscent of legendary classics, Dana is introducing a new brand of soul back into the industry. Framed as a love letter, DANA sings about the ups and downs of her journey in romance. Drawing from inspirations like Edith Piaf, Frank Sinatra, and Jay-Z, Dana tells this story with the help of strong percussion, a delicate vibrato, and live horns. Drawing on this growing infatuation and true sense of belonging, Dana aims to revive that classic beauty through her music while also exercising her freedom as a woman of the millennium to be honest about heartache, pain, and loneliness in love.