Blue Velvet

Nearly indistinguishable from most of Houston Person's other albums for the High Note label in the late '90s and early 2000s, 2001's Blue Velvet has the same smoothly professional but slightly anonymous backing combo led by Richard Wyands' piano, a song selection taken mostly from the same set of classic songwriters, even a similar art design and the same engineer and studio. It's impossible to fault any of Houston Person's albums from this period, as the tenor saxophonist remains a sublimely gifted soloist with a gorgeous, well-rounded tone and a smartly melodic soloing sense, and the material, from the pens of Sammy Cahn, Billy Eckstine, and Oscar Levant, with the standard made popular by Bobby Vinton and David Lynch as the title track (beautifully done, with a lovely and concise solo by Wyands), is similarly first-rate…

Maysa holds unique status in the world of R&B/Jazz. Her incomparably lush, sensuous vocals have garnered her legions of loyal, loving fans. As featured vocalist of the UK super group Incognito, core member of Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove and, of course, through her own albums and concerts, Maysa has been thrilling R&B and Jazz audiences for decades. Blue Velvet Soul is far and away the most sensuous and heartfelt recording of her brilliant career. Maysa thrills us with a stirring rendition of Quiet Fire a loving tribute to her mentor and role model Nancy Wilson that will leave you breathless.