Album Review: Stevie Holland’s “Talk to Your Tomatoes”

Lisa Jo Sagolla
Don’t be misled by its silly title! Jazz vocalist-lyricist Stevie Holland’s new album, Talk to Your Tomatoes, is not a comic affair, but rather a touching collection of 10, exquisitely arranged pop, jazz, and theatre tunes.  Only one track is clearly aimed at your funny bone—the entertaining title song, with lyrics by Holland and music...

Miss Maybell and Her Ragtime Romeos — “Under the Midnight Moon—Unrecorded Songs of the 1890s – 1920s”

Lisa Jo Sagolla
An amazing feat of research, re-vivification, and recording, the unique new album Under the Midnight Moon proffers tickling, period-style renditions of 15 previously unrecorded American songs dating from 1899 to 1924.  Entertainingly performed by “Miss Maybell” (vocalist Lauren Sansaricq) and her “Ragtime Romeos” (pianist Charlie Judkins and a kickin’ band of banjo, accordion, brass, wind,...

Album Review: Bria Skonberg’s “Indigo”

Gerry Geddes
Juno Award-winning singer/musician Bria Skonberg’s new album, Indigo, is a companion piece to her recent release, Brass, which centered on her trumpet playing. Indigo is focused on her equally impressive vocals with a collection of mostly standards in crystalline orchestrations that highlight and enrich her supple, gentle, intelligent phrasing and her pleasingly smoky sound. It...

Carmen Lundy—”Notes from the Wine Cellar”

Gerry Geddes
The release of jazz great Carmen Lundy’s sixteenth album, Notes from the Wine Cellar, coincides with her being named a 2026 NEA Jazz Master, the highest accolade a jazz artist can receive. This is a highly personal project with Lundy contributing much more than just vocals. Produced with Elisabeth Oei, Lundy wrote all the songs,...

Album Review: Kathy Ingraham’s “Jazz Dreams”

Gerry Geddes
For a project inspired by a 1944 Oscar-winning short film called Heavenly Music, Kathy Ingraham’s new recording, Jazz Dreams, is an unexpectedly bracing and jazzy dive into rock radio. In the film, a deceased bebop jazz band leader must justify his entry into the heavenly Hall of Music before a committee of elitist classical composers and...

Album Review: Lisa Yaeger’s “Jersey Girl”

Lisa Jo Sagolla
Based on her eponymous cabaret show, vocalist Lisa Yaeger’s exciting new album, Jersey Girl, celebrates songs written, performed, or famously recorded by New Jersey natives. A Jersey girl herself, with a bright, adorably sexy voice, Yaeger is remarkably daring. Not only does she take on tunes definitively performed by the likes of Whitney Houston, Marilyn McCoo,...

Album Reviews: Sondheim’s Melodies Linger On

Gerry Geddes
Stephen Sondheim passed away on November 26, 2021 but the immortality of his songs has never been in question. Right now, there is a multi-decade film of Merrily We Roll Along being filmed under the direction of Richard Linklater—starring Paul Mescal, Ben Platt, and Beanie Feldstein—in “real time”—which will then be edited backwards. A filmed version of...

Mark Winkler “Love Comes First”

Gerry Geddes
Bistro Award winner Mark Winkler is, arguably, one of the most prolific jazz singers today. Love Comes First is his 23rd recording and he shows no signs of slowing down. In his recent show at New York's Pangea, he announced that in August he will be recording an album with British jazz royalty Claire Martin filled...

As Is (AI and Stacey Schulman) — “Crazy World”

Gerry Geddes
I have always had a warm spot in my music listening heart for pop recordings. I love jazz, rock, film scores, Broadway, folk, and so many other genres that I have been told that my taste is so eclectic that it is nonexistent.  Even though two out of three of my favorite singers are Sarah Vaughan...

Marcus Goldhaber— “The Promise of You”

Gerry Geddes
Since jazz singer/ songwriter Marcus Goldhaber first came on the scene, and through appearances at major jazz clubs and cabarets around the country, and through five previous albums, he established himself as one of the young guard of protectors of and contributors to the Great American Songbook. His style is a captivating blend of jazz...