Multiversum is a great title for this one – as the set unlocks yet another slice of the musical multiverse in which Jimi Tenor has seemed to roam for the past few decades – always giving us amazing new sounds when he decides to shift dimensions! Here, the music draws on his recent legacy of spiritual jazz, but is a bit more focused and groovy overall – tunes that occasionally even pick up enough of a pace to be clubjazz, but which also spread out in all these other warm elements too – plenty of flute and other reedlines, great keyboards, and this soulful vibe that really fits the laidback spirit of the record – a vibe that almost as Tenor tracing things back to the funkier sounds he was giving us at the start of the century! The whole thing's great – maybe the best album from Jimi in years – and further testament to his effortless and ever-flowing creativity. Titles include "Bad Trip Good", "Raju Raju", "Birthday Magic", "Bass Kalimba Dance", "Baby Free Spirit", "Monday Blue", "Jazznouveau", and "Uncharted Waters". ~ Dusty Groove
An expanded 3CD version of Latin For Lovers – one of the best moments from the 60s career of Doris Day – a set that's more bossa than the Latin promised in the title – but in the best way possible! Mort Garson provides the backings, and the tunes have this dreamy, jazzy approach that's quite a change from some of the usual arrangements used for Doris Day – which creates this great space for the singer to slide gently into the tunes – never in a way that's trying to copy Brazilian bossa modes, but which also lets Doris show off some of her more melancholy modes too. Titles include "Be Mine Tonight", "Por Favor", "Dansero", "Meditation", "Fly Me To The Moon", "Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars", and "Our Day Will Come". CD1 features the album in stereo, CD2 features the album in mono, and CD3 features "Other Latin Directions" – 18 tracks from mid 60s singles that include "There They Are", "Every Now & Then", "Caprice", "Glass Bottom Boat", "Catch The Bouquet", "Rainbow's End", "Do Not Disturb", "Possess Me", "Everybody Loves A Lover (alt version)", and "Enjoy Yourself – It's Later Than You Think". ~ Dusty Groove
It may sound funny for a guy nicknamed “Motown Moe” to work out of a studio in Chicago, but the keyboardist/composer and Air Force veteran is a Detroit cat through and through - a former member of United Steel Workers and United Auto Workers Unions who grew up on classic R&B and funky jazz fusion and cut his musical teeth in the Motor City. His prolific nearly 15-year career soars to new heights with his vibey new album Living My Best Life, which showcases his mastery of blending sensual moods with lively deep pocket and sometimes unconventional and exotic rhythm patterns, along with his bandleading prowess leading vibrant ensembles featuring the likes of Nils, Rick Stone, Tony Craddock Jr, Tony Guerrero, Ryan Svendson, Chris Campbell and Darron Cookie Moore. ~ www.smoothjazz.com
The title of Grammy nominated composer, guitarist, bassist and multi-instrumentalist Dennis Murphy’s 1999 debut Hit Me Hard, perfectly captures the intensity he’s brought over the years to his multitude of endeavors as an early genre radio personality (whose show “Bass Trax” was produced by Smoothjazz.com founder, Sandy Shore), clinician and founder of a popular Monterey, California music school, and studio and touring sideman for Acoustic Alchemy, Maria Muldaur, Billy Preston among others. On this latest foray, the eclectic, ultra-melodic and tightly grooving Our Higher Selves, Murphy darts artfully between colorful guitar playing and bass-driven Smooth Jazz, fusion, playful samba and spiritual soul while freewheeling with an all-star cast including elite saxophonists Kirk Whalum, Eric Marienthal, Gary Meek and Tower Of Power’s Tom Politzer, as well as late guitar great Jeff Golub and legendary drummer Will Kennedy! ~ www.smoothjazz.com
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