Browsing Tag

Jazz Composer

Michel Héroux Orchestrated Synesthetic Euphoria in the Serenity of His Jazz Fusion Installation, Folk Song

Posted on 24 May 2024

Montreal-based guitarist, composer, arranger, and educator, Michel Héroux allowed his latest instrumental piece, Folk Song, to become a paragon of his fusionist prestige. His ability to translate technical skill, while balancing jazz, blues, rock, pop, rock, classical and experimental elements, into profoundly evocative sensory experiences which transcend auditory bliss is superlative – to say the least.

With each progression an explosion of vibrant, almost tropical, soul, you can’t help but be enveloped by the synesthesia-bestowed hues which blossom around the complex layers of the creatively uninhibited melodies which serenade you away from the mundanity of material reality and implant you in a sonic scene of utopia. If you need to be reminded of the capacity for fret-carved beauty, hit play.

Folk Song will be available to stream on all major platforms from May 24^th. Discover Michel Héroux via his official website and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

David Seymour constructed a euphonic paradise in his jazz-folk piece, What a Life

Posted on 20 May 2024

Easy listening doesn’t come much easier than, What a Life, a standout piece on David Seymour’s jazz-folk fusion EP, Shelter. The elegant-with-soul slice of euphonic paradise doesn’t allow sophistication to get in the way of the accessibility of the release which prises minds open to the possibility of utopias lying wherever your rose-tinted perception looks for them.

The Latin guitar flourishes which beckons the outro adds another layer of auditory serenity to the organically free-flowing release after the female vocalist spills her equable graceful beguile over the score written and composed by David Seymour who has been integral to the London music scene for the past three decades. Following his position as a world music agent at Jenako Arts, he studied with the one and only Amancio D’Silva before studying at the music department at New City College with Chris Wilson.

By filtering jazz through a lens of folk and ensuring soul spills from every note of the instrumentation, David Seymour established himself as an essential artist for anyone who seeks the spiritual sanctity of folk and the expressive fluency of easy-listening jazz. With more music in the pipeline, Seymour is undoubtedly one to watch throughout 2024.

Stream What a Life with the rest of David Seymour’s seminal EP on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Joanne Louise’ standout score, The Avenue, is a refreshing sojourn through jazz fusion

Posted on 5 May 2024

With her standout score, The Avenue, the rhythmically intuitive composer Joanne Louise captured a distinctive space within the jazz sphere, presenting an easy-listening single that smoulders with classical sensibility and innovative flourishes.

This piece is a testament to the breadth of the Pittsburgh-born artist’s musical education and the depth of her creativity; Louise’s training at The Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia evidently informs the sophisticated orchestration of the track. Her ability to weave hip-hop nuances into the fabric of world music, without overshadowing the jazz foundation, speaks to a refined compositional skill.

The Avenue” itself is an engaging paradox. It is rooted in tradition yet feels entirely contemporary, thanks to Louise’s daring genre amalgamative style. The result is a simmering blend that respects its jazz heritage while introducing an eclectic mix of sounds that serenade the ear and envelop the soul in a lush auditory reprieve.

Stream The Avenue on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia gave jazz a sophisticated edge with ‘Altar Ego’

Posted on 2 April 2024

Two major talents collided for the creation of the superlatively cultivated jazz-pop score, Altar Ego; with Robert Prester in deft charge of composition, lyrics and piano & Adriana Samargia lending her cinematic vocal timbre to the number, it unravelled as a standing ovation-worthy triumph.

Sophistication spills from every note in the sublime, bordering on baroque, score which exhibits Robert Prester’s virtuosic flair when his hands find harmony over piano keys while Adriana Samargia’s vibrant-with-zeal contribution to the single infuses Altar Ego with swathes of commercial appeal. With a voice which wouldn’t be out of place on Broadway, Adriana was the perfect fit to add even more vigour to this exhilaratingly distinctive number.

Stream the official music video for Altar Ego on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jisu Jung took her journey of self-discovery in the neo-classic jazz release, Who Am I

Posted on 6 October 2023

After honing her talents in some of the most prestigious music institutions including Dresden College of Music, Berklee College of Music in Boston, and the Manhattan School of Music, the pianist and composer, Jisu Jung’s technical skills transcended into an ability to forge evocative connections with her innovative compositions.

Her latest classical jazz piece, Who Am I, welcomes you into her expressive world, where cello strings visualise the darkness we all need to negate on the path of self-discovery and the piano keys embellish the score with flourishing syncopation to mimic the freedom of personal growth.

As the momentum builds towards the mid-way point in the instrumental release, euphoric zeal starts to underpin the orchestration, marking a radical shift from the ornate air in the prelude to the virtuosic control of chaotic time signatures. Even though the energy doesn’t sustain towards the outro, the innate liberation in the progression lingers before the abrupt silence allows you to take a breath that isn’t influenced by the momentum within the classical Tour De Force.

Who Am I was officially released on September 22; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Embark on an ochre aural adventure with Ross Cantrell’s single, Peach Skies, ft Sam Thompson

Posted on 7 August 2023

After graduating from Bath Spa University with a First-Class Honours Degree in Music and releasing a superlative string of successful singles, the saxophonist and composer, Ross Cantrell has invited his fans to embark on an ochre aural adventure by unveiling his debut album, Golden Hour.

While each of the seven singles serves up a melodic remedy that will indulge your senses in catharsis, the standout jazz-fusion single, Peach Skies, featuring Sam Thompson is the perfect introduction to Cantrell’s arresting ability to bring presence of mind to his listeners.

From an intro of reverberant drenched in 80s nostalgia synths, the downtempo amalgam of smooth jazz and electronic pop gets to work embedding under your skin, implanting ease with each mellifluous progression that exhibits Ross Cantrell’s natural talents when it comes to subduing you into a sonic world of sheer sonic serenity.

The halcyon days may be over in our society, but endless swathes of tranquillity await anyone willing to hit play.

Stream Peach Skies and the LP in full by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The jazz virtuoso John Sheckler, is back in the New Orleans swing in 50 Ring Gauge

Posted on 20 June 2023

Highway 27 by Jon Sheckler

Taken from his forthcoming LP, HIGHWAY 27, the award-winning composer and percussionist Jon Sheckler’s latest single, 50 Ring Gauge, enriched the New Orleans jazz scene with swinging contemporary flair and nuanced tenacity.

The steady rattle and roll of his drum fills punctuate the rockabilly guitar tones, which meander through the release with an almost Stray Cat Strut while the basslines take a backseat in the rhythmical masterclass of innovation.

HIGHWAY 27 has been five years in the making; in September 2023, the LP will finally follow his critically acclaimed 2018 album, Cityscapes. Between composing the album, Sheckler received a Downbeat Student Music Award for his composition, Medicine Leaves, in 2021, he was also chosen as one of three ASCAP Louis Armstrong Scholars in the States. It is safe to say accolades don’t get more revered than that.

50 Ring Gauge is now available to stream and download on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

E.G. Phillips has released his riotously infectious Timelord-inspired jazz single, Brave Heart, Luna

Posted on 26 February 2022

We couldn’t get E.G. Phillips’ Doctor Who-inspired jazzy folky big band single in our ears fast enough. Brave Heart, Luna took inspiration from the reassurances made by the 5th doctor to his companion in times of intergalactic strife. Yet the single itself was written to quell fears of a friend; we can only imagine how gratified she was to inspire such a triumphant affirmation of her resilience.

Brave Heart, Luna obliterates the notion that only weak minds suffer by celebrating the strength of those battle-scarred by adversity while the vibrantly almost riotous progressions get the dopamine flowing.

If anyone could give Jason Webley’s rampant imagination a run for its money, it is E.G. Phillips.

You can check out Brave Heart, Luna for yourselves by heading over to E.G. Phillips’ official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Eldad Ben Naim has delivered his hypnotic electro-jazz fusion score, Welcome Night

Posted on 13 February 2022

With a score that feels like a jazzier and smokier version of Bladerunner’s aural phonoaesthetic, Eldad Ben Naim’s seminal single, Welcome Night, is a hypnotic introduction to the jazz fusion virtuoso’s gift when it comes to laying down beguilingly elegant arrangements.

The electro-jazz instrumental soundscape puts a polyphonic spin on the blazing solos that you’d expect to blast from a sax or guitar, giving the score a playfully eccentric edge, but never compromising on the high-brow alchemy which keeps flowing your way throughout the entire duration of the 6-minute release. If you’re not left entranced by the outro, you should be pretty worried about the state of your soul.

You can check out Eldad Ben Naim’s single, Welcome Night for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast