New Standards by Leiza Michaels

Good Morning to all those that have been following my reviews.  This morning I want to introduce you to the New York native jazz vocalist Leiza Michaels, who is showcasing her great voice and songwriting talents with the EP called New Standards which is released on the Starburst Records label.  This brand new album of six original songs which she co-wrote with Jay Carney of Starburst records reminds me of the sound of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and many others with such amazing tracks as Movin’ Too Slow, The Older You Get, Charm Me and much more.  This release presents an amazing performance and superb recording which is available on CD and digital download from Starburst Records and other music outlets.  In closing, I want to thank Jay Carney of Starburst Records for turning me on to this great album.

Water Theory by Lorena Leigh

This morning I started my day listening to a CD I received in the mail the other day by an independent artist from Fort Worth, Texas that mixes pop with a little of island and folk sound.  The artist is Lorena Leigh and the album is Water Theory released November 8, 2019, on the Cowgirl-Mermaid Records label.  This eleven-track album showcases a great voice and talent as a songwriter on such tracks as Into The Water, Girls Like Me, Can’t Undo, Take It Slow, Follow You and so much more.  I was quite impressed with the performance on this album as well as it’s superb recording. This album takes you from Texas to Florida and the Caribbean where you can listen to this album while enjoying the sun, surf, and a tropical drink.  This album is available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Itunes, and many other music retailers.   You can also learn about the artist and her music by going to her official website https://www.lorenaleigh.com/

Go, Just Do It by Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne

Canadian ball-of-fire beacon of the blues scene Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne is set to add to his stack of multi-award-winning albums with the release of Go, Just Do It! scheduled for release on June 12, 2020, via Stony Plain Records.  This is my second review for this amazing blues keyboardist, my first one was back in August of last year. Joining Kenny Wayne who is playing piano, organ and vocals are Russell Jackson on electric and upright bass, Yuji Ihara on lead and rhythm guitar, Joey “The Pocket” DiMarco on drums, Sherman “Tank” Doucette on harmonica, powerhouse horn players Jerry Cook and Vince Mai and Barry Sharbo on tambourine.  This thirteen track album of original tracks feature such great work as Just Do It, You’re In For a Big Surprise, Don’t Want To Be President, Bumpin Down The Highway, Let The Rock Roll and so much more.   In addition to an amazing performance, this album also features great songwriting and a superb recording.  This is a great album to add to your blues library and is available on CD and digital download format from Amazon, Apple Music, and many other music retailers.  You can also learn about the artist, his music and where you can catch him live after the clubs and venues open up after this coronavirus situation is under control by going to his official website https://kennybluesboss.com/

Something Unreal: The Best Of by Ex Norwegian

The other day I received the 20 September 2019 signed vinyl album by Ex Norwegian called Something Unreal: The Best Of on the Think Like A Key Records label.  Ex Norwegian consists of Roger Houdaille playing most of the instruments on this album along with my good friend and talented musician Fernando Perdomo doing the drum work and more.  This fifteen track vinyl and 48 track CD contains such great work as the title track Something Unreal, Unstoppable, Feelin’ It, Sudeki Lover, Love Is, I Like The Way, Hold Please, and much more.  The two-CD set also contains a nice selection of live tracks.  I was quite impressed with the performance on this album as well as Roger’s songwriting talent and a superb recording. In the upcoming weeks I will be sharing my review on the other vinyl he sent me called Hue Spotting and a CD called Spotting Hues.  You can pick up your own copy of this vinyl, CD, or digital download from Amazon, https://shop.exnorwegian.com/music, and many other music outlets.  To learn more about this amazing artist and his music, go to his official website https://www.exnorwegian.com/ where you can get your hands on his other recordings and much more.

Ready To Strike by Rapazzi

This morning’s listen is a sound I have not heard before.  You take some rock and mix it with jazz, Celtic, and some Johnny Cash threw in and you get the 26 April 2016 album Ready to Strike by Brazilian composer/producer, an American lyricist, and seasoned vocalists living in Mexico called Rapazzi.  This seventeen track album features such tracks as Feather In the Wind, For The Child, State Of The Union, When A Giggles Run Too Deep, Snake In The Grass, Gone Missing, and much more.  In addition to an interesting performance, there is an excellent songwriting and superb recording.  With this different mixture, you need to check out this album to see if it is your cup of tea.  This release is available on CD and digital download from Starburst Records, Amazon, Apple Music, and all other music retailers.

The Leo August Album by Fernando Perdomo

The Leo August Album is the May 19, 2020 concept album by Fernando Perdomo, guitarist, and bassist of the Dave Kerzner Band in which the concept of this amazing release is that Leo August is a singer-songwriter on his death bed at the end of his battle with a deadly disease.   This ten-track album is my twelfth review for this amazing artist and has more reviews on my blog than any other.  I am always looking forward to hearing new material from Fernando and am constantly seeing the growth of this artist as a songwriter and performer.  I enjoyed this album from start to finish with such great tracks as Final Stage, Release, Fade Out, Don’t Forget To Say Goodnight and so much more.  This amazing release features an unforgettable performance as well as brilliant songwriting and superb recording.  I highly recommend you take a listen to this great piece of work which is available today at https://fernandoperdomo.bandcamp.com/album/the-leo-august-album/ where you can also find all of his earlier work.  In closing, I want to thank you, Fernando, for giving me the opportunity to listen to this album and also turning me on to other artists that you have worked with.

Dull Uncomplicated Man by Struck With Green

Dull Uncomplicated Man is the 2016 Electro/ Industrial album by Orlando, Florida based band Stuck with Green featuring Ron Potter on electronic beats and synths, drum machine, vocals, and guitars and Evan Zappa and the Necessity on synths.  Listening to this album I found out that this kind of music is not my cup of tea on this twenty track album which features such tracks Never Too Late, Isolation Fornication, D.U.M., Cemetery’s Promises, Plantings and much more.  This album was well written and recorded, but the performance is not to my liking, I guess it is because I am not into this kind of music, even though there are a large number of people that would enjoy this kind of sound.  This album is available on Spotify and other music outlets.  To find out more about this band, go to https://www.broadjam.com/stuckwithgreen

 

A Complicated Man by Peter G. Olach (PGO)

Yesterday I received a nice package Starburst Records a contact I made from Broadjam.com with several CDs.  The first offering that was in the stack was an album that was released back on February 1, 2013, by  Peter G. Olach (AKA PGO) called A Complicated Man.  This eleven-track album which blends the very best elements of traditional Folk, Celtic, Country, and Americana forge a whole new genre of quiet elegance of all original songs such as Far From Home, the title track Complicated Man, Let Your Love Grow, Our World, Almost Home and much more.  Listening to his voice and style reminds me so much of one of my favorite artists Cat Stevens.  In addition to a great performance, Peter presents a great songwriting style and a superb recording.  It will be very interesting to hear how his later recordings sound like and see the growth of him as a songwriter and artist.  This album is available on CD and digital download from Amazon, FYE, Starburst Records and many other music outlets.  You can learn more about this artist and his music by going to https://www.broadjam.com/PGOmusic  If you folks care to venture to his Broadjam page they will discover his entire catalog is currently “FREE DOWNLOAD” with one purpose, to raise money for Western North Carolina, tri-county, frontline healthcare providers using the “TIP JAR”.  His free download project will come to its conclusion July 4th, Independence Day.

 

Instantine by DVR

Instantine is the May 15, 2020 release by DVR, a studio music project by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Olav Christensen. Originally from Denmark, Christensen is now based in Brooklyn, NY, and writes, records, produces, and masters all his music.  This is my fourth review for this artist, my last one was for the album All Good Things which he sent me as a Vinyl which I still listen to on my turntable.  This eighteen track release which is only available as a digital download in which  I am very impressed with the growth on this album both as a songwriter and an artist with such great tracks as Agonizing Rhythm Of Time, Anytime Now, Golden Hour, When I See, Weather and so much more and can be purchased as of today from his Bandcamp page https://dvrmusic.bandcamp.com/

 

Four Track Mind by Alan Davey

Four Track Mind is a four-CD compilation of home studio recordings from the brilliantly creative and exhaustively produced Alan Davey, an English bassist, singer, keyboardist, and songwriter, best known as the former bassist with Hawkwind scheduled for release May 22, 2020, on the Purple Pyramid Records label and distributed by Cleopatra Records.  This is also the fifth review I have done for this amazing artist.  This sixty-seven track compilation features such tracks as R.E.M. Time, Slumber Head, Moody Nation, The Call, Simulator, Lost In The Smoke, Fear At The Night, Bird Nebula, In The Game and so much more.  I was quite moved by the performance of this compilation as well as Alan’s brilliant songwriting talent and a superb recording.  This is definitely a collection you will want to add to your music library which will be available soon from Cleopatra Records, Amazon, Bandcamp, and all music retailers where CDs and digital downloads are sold.