“Flying High—Still Soaring”

Gerry Geddes
The new recording, Flying High—Still Soaring, the latest project from Champian Fulton, is a follow-up to her 2024 album, Flying High—Big Band Canaries Who Soared. This last album just scratched the surface of the incredible treasure trove of songs bequeathed to the world by band singers—an army of vocalists that fronted big bands on the...

The BLCK Madonna— “Between the Lines”

Gerry Geddes
The BLCK Madonna is the stage name for jazz singer Ana Hoffman whose new album, Between the Lines, is an inviting and hypnotically musical reimagining of seven jazz standards through her bright, thoughtful, distinct, and masterful vocals and the outstanding support of her band which is subtle, strong, soaring, and intriguing throughout. The group includes...

“Cat & the Hounds—Colin Hancock’s Jazz Hounds” Featuring Catherine Russell

Penelope Thomas
Grab your hat and your party shoes, pack a suitcase for a classic train ride, and get ready for Cat & The Hounds’ trip to the 1920s. Arranger, producer, cornetist, and C-melody sax player Colin Hancock has created a bubble of joy where you can imagine an evening with a territory Creole jazz band. Regional...

“You Fascinate Me So: Phillip Officer Salutes Mabel Mercer”

Mark Dundas Wood
I never had the good fortune to hear Mabel Mercer sing live, so I’ve had to rely on recordings to understand why she is such an inspiration to the cabaret singers who have followed in her footsteps. Mercer admitted to changing her way of singing late in her career. Her New York Times obituary from...

Maria Corsaro – “Love Makes the Changes”

Lisa Jo Sagolla
Vocalist Maria Corsaro’s dulcet new album, Love Makes the Changes, is a hybrid of sorts, in that it merges Corsaro’s longstanding passion for jazz singing with her newfound interest in cabaret. According to liner notes, Corsaro’s recording is intended to satisfy fans of both performance genres in equal measure. But from a purely vocal standpoint, cabaret audiences...

Darius de Haas: “Let Me Carry You This Christmas”

Lisa Jo Sagolla
A very “wintery,” interestingly daring Christmas album, noted jazz vocalist and OBIE Award-winning musical-theatre performer Darius de Haas’s Let Me Carry You This Christmas showcases the singer’s bold explorations of a range of musical styles through a well-curated array of traditional carols and cold-weather songs. De Haas sings with grand emotion. His “involving” style really pulls...

Debbie Wileman: “A Christmas Garland”

Lisa Jo Sagolla
Surprisingly, the iconic American vocalist Judy Garland never made a full Christmas album.  But thanks to Judy Garland impersonator Debbie Wileman’s A Christmas Garland, we get to hear what such a recording by the legendary singer might have sounded like. While you won’t be fooled into thinking you’re hearing Garland herself, Wileman’s vocal impersonation is extraordinary....

Kenny Barron — “Songbook”

Gerry Geddes
Anyone with even a passing interest in or knowledge of jazz has no doubt heard the name Kenny Barron.  He is an acclaimed master of the piano and has been since the early 1960s.  He has worked with the best in the field and, at 82, he could easily choose to rest on his well-deserved...

La Tanya Hall —”If Not Now, When…”

Mark Dundas Wood
La Tanya Hall’s recent album, If Not Now, When…, is her first since she recovered her voice after having lost it for a while in a bout with COVID. The album has a short song list—a mere eight tracks. And while the collection may not inspire a lightning flash on a single listening, repeat visits...

Paloma Dineli Chesky— “Memory”

Penelope Thomas
Paloma Dineli Chesky’s third album, Memory, evokes one of my favorite kinds of midcentury record genres, what I’ll unofficially call "the sad girl on a rainy night." It features one beautiful, sustained feeling of regret and love lost; with a nod to modal jazz; and an invitation to spend some quality time with the singer,...