Let's get this new year started with an absolutely stellar cast of musicians including (but not limited to) Ches Smith and Marta Sanchez! Says Weiss, “at a time when attention spans are fractured by information overload and the importance of satisfying our immediate desires competes with the ability to sustain our focus, listening to an entire album from start to finish is a tall order to ask of anyone. The art of creating an entire album is in fact, archaic; the word album itself is outdated. However, when we come to the end of our lives, if we’ve created some beauty during our stay, then we can rest content. This body of music is a gesture in that direction however old-fashioned. I hope it touches everyone who hears it in a meaningful way and satisfies you even for a fleeting moment." Alex Weiss’ latest album came together during the pandemic lockdown and the Trump presidency; small wonder then, that the album is titled “Most Don’t Have Enough.” Even the more political song such as the Trump-referencing second track, “Your Dark Shadows Arrives at The Door,” (the single available on Spotify and everywhere) doesn’t strain and shout; instead, pensive and understated, it slinks and sways with dark, seductive power, less a reflection on the demagogue himself than on the silken, hypnotic quality of the power that someone like he can cast on the populace.
"Sacred Mandala" benefits from jazz guitar solos by Theophile Bourdier. It is a jazz electric guitar-led recording. It can please those who like smooth jazz guitarists, such as Nils, Norman Brown, Jeff Golub, or Chris Standring. The song is upbeat, yet the production is gentle utilizing 80s-style drums and synthesizers. The title "Sacred Mandala" refers to the concept that our daily job and work is something to value and appreciate and not something to escape from. Every day I go to work, knowing it is a privilege and something sacred and valuable to me and to society. Previously, Dario Margeli achieved lots of Smooth Jazz radio airplay with the 2019 recording "Suffering is optional". The song was also added to two very important smooth jazz electric guitar Spotify playlists. This means that to this day the song is getting discovered by new listeners. It has stream counts approaching a hundred thousand when adding the different versions and youtube listens. In 2021 the single Pure Spirit was released featuring guitarists, such as Hugh Williams from Florida. Dario's first release is from 2011 always collaborating with the best session electric guitar players. Being a person interested in meditation and reducing anxiety, there is a constant attempt to have those qualities show up in the artist's recordings, such as 2016s "I'm not my brain", featuring the keyboardist Terrell 'Bishop' Beane.
Mighty nice work from Leones – an Italian duo, but one whose sound is a perfect fit for the Star Creature label – as they come across here with a really cosmic blend of drums and keyboards, often cut with plenty of jazz! The drums are live at most moments, which really opens up the flow of the music – and gives the whole thing a beating heart that's very different from more clubby material of this nature – a spontaneous groove that really has the keyboards stretching out with some solo moments, instead of just vamping along with the groove! The whole thing's nice and lean, and instrumental throughout – on titles that include "Dawn Of The Day", "The Fugitive", "Refresh & Smile", "Love The Sea You'll Be Free", "Last Sunset In The Savannah", and "The Running Gazelle". ~ Dusty Groove
Tina Hartt is a singer, composer and musician from Montreal. She has enjoyed a diverse singing career across Canada, including stints with rock bands and church choirs in Montreal, with big bands and jazz combos in Toronto, and work as an actor, singer, and dancer in Nova Scotia and PEI. Her first album was released way back in 2000 – she thought it would be her last. Luckily, life was generous enough to give her a second chance with 2023’s Absence of You. In 2014 she moved west to Calgary, where she decided to focus her musical efforts on jazz. Returning to her french roots, she dusted off a few old french chansons and gave them new life by combining their inherent French romance with latin rhythms and jazz harmony. These elements are the foundation for her original music, and lend a freshness to her interpretations of jazz standards. Absence of You pays homage to the many factors that have influenced Hartt’s life and sound. Her mother was a painter whose preferred medium was water colour – for Hartt, she feels jazz allows her a similar freedom to “paint a little outside the lines” like her mother. Hartt herself is mother to two children, and it was their Venezuelan father who helped nurture and develop her love of latin music and culture. She quickly recognized that the French and Spanish share a common approach to life, full of intensity, mischief and an undeniable “joie de vivre” – all of which is reflected in her singing on this beautiful new album.
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