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Singers and musicians who are not famous often muse about meeting and performing with legends of music, jazz, etc etc… It may have been in a subjective context that I had a dialogue with my best buddy, Mike Mersch about a concert I was to put on in Feb 2011 with my big band. This concert was to be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church Venice, Fl. (A church with great affinity and compatibility to the jazz idiom.) Ultimately, although I didn’t realize it yet, this church was to put it’s venue where it’s mouth is as it were and give me the venue gratis to effect an idea that began to brew in both my mind and Mike’s.

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I will make the understatement of the day and assert that it was a hoot to both produce and warm up vocally for jazz singer legend Mark Murphy with my big band. I guess both Mark and myself were both a little apprehensive in meeting each other for the first time, but after the fact, my recollections of the two vocal jazz concerts which I produced with my co-producer, Mike Mersch were studies in humor, great jazz phrasing, indestructible vocalese by Mark, and ultimately down a little road later…

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How do you describe a Walt Weiskopf, jazz reedman extraordinaire. As the baroque philosopher once said: ''Let me define the ways.'' How about we start with emotional, intellectual, stylish, sanguine, symphonic, orderly, balanced, symmetric, coherent, and totally creative and supportive to his sidemen. I should pay a kudo as well to his choice of jazz pianist Renee Rosnes who becomes the perfect counterpoint to the group, creating the nessessary ''space'' for the players to vie their respective talents forthwith!!  Walt and his group deliver their music therefore with a heroic resolve, conveying a feeling of passion and mood for our benefit.

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Interesting ''East meets West-European'' type vocal phrasing, strong jazz feeling, and one hell of a backup group, (with my buddy George Garzone on tenor)... Cinzia Spata struts her vocalise with her emotional delivery and we are happy to experience the variant shades of her artistry. She understands the symbiosis between melody, harmony, and lyrics totally, and gives us her listeners that sense that yes... music is expressive... something she's quite capable to effect... and how far she's willing to go to bring her musical craft to fruition. We can actually hear the process of musical communication begin to ''stir'' inside her heart and soul as it makes a compelling and moving impact on our musical sensibilities. It's refreshing to note too that she doesn't try to copy anyone vocally... rather she prefers to take on the ethos of solid and srtong instrumentalists to make her artful statements. I must assert that this is a sudden materialization of a vocal artist that we must all reckon with now and in the future. She's here to stay!!

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Sheryl picks up her jazz guitar and we take a passionate leap into her pleasureable ethos... and we're immersed into her fantastic symphony of sound, compelling harmonies, and pathos oriented melodies.  We are treated with a certain jubilant longing intoher original music world . Her original music presented here posseses a strength of purpose as well as an indomitable character that relates to her wondrous artistry. She both writes and plays her songs with a courageous and heroic resolve, bringing us her listeners into a sense of musical joy, relief, and fulfilment. It all seems to come together in this her new CD project! More! More! More!!

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Well now... Here's a positive clash of two cultures. Russian jazz singer Oleg Frish with the Patrick Williams big band!! And, what a powerhouse performance. This guy understands the American Songbook as well as any native American. And he plies his wares as succinctly as he can deliver his song... Even down to getting the parlance of the song correct, and yes... even to getting the accent right!!

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I've always been enamoured to Ken Peplowski's prodigous talents in the 'reed' area, and his choice of songs is second to none. His love for the American Songbook is again manifest in this his new CD project. I'm a sucker, (as a saloon singer myself) for ballads, and may I pay special kudos to Ken for his take of the lovely jazz ballad, ''When Joanna Loved Me.'' His delivery was a true exercise in Appassionata with his beautiful textures as well as his imaginative vitality which he gave to the song. He is truly 'individual.' No one plays his horn with more rhythmic variety and flexibility. His jazz ballads naturally emote a certain gentle elegiac mood that can take you to that ''special place'' as it were. It would be hard to find another artist of Ken's ilk that delivers his music with such a predominant emphasis on musical color.  He's one of a kind. A powerfully dramatic artist with a bent for both the profoundly serene and the tranquil, as well as the stormy and strong.