Sting A Touch Of Jazz

Celebration of the mid-60s Swinging London scene at its brash, colourful zenith. A cornucopia of club-friendly mod R&B/soul, era-defining pop hits and cult TV/film themes as England swung like a pendulum do.

Better known as Sting's guitarist, Dominic Miller has put out a few solo efforts over the years, with this, his fourth, following suit. This one shows a sensitive side, with tender compositions for solo guitar throughout (with the exception of a vocal number midway through), sometimes backed up by various musician friends on drums or bass for a song or two. The sound is primarily soft rock and the like, but Miller effectively handles a dose of jazz in "Partido Alto" as well. Miller's playing is perhaps too light and cautious to really manage a solo effort. He plays as though he's still in the rhythm section rather than letting his abilities come through fully. At the same time, he has a very tender touch, welcome in its own right.

Since they started in the early 1970’s, ECM has been giving the world one excellent jazz piano disc after another–significant names include Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, and Paul Bley, more recently Anat Fort, Bo Stenson, and now Julia Hulsmann. Leading a trio on her ECM debut, THE END OF SUMMER, Hulsman displays a graceful, muted, and melancholy air. In the manner of Stenson and Bley, Hulsmann expresses maximum emotion and mood using the fewest (but well-placed) notes. Unlike the aforementioned gentlemen however, Hulsmann favors almost folk-like, affable, and concise melodies. Her bassist and drummer seem subdued at times, but they’re constantly lending the tunes a sense of forward motion.

10th digital album of Dutch songwriter JoosTVD (The Vanished Dutchman).

11th digital album of Dutch songwriter JoosTVD (The Vanished Dutchman).

Manu Katché went to the Conservatoire but his musical origins are to be found in rock music. Even though the drummer extraordinaire has listened to a lot of jazz music, he hasnt played that much of it. The case gets even harder to crack when you listen to Katchés tenth album, The ScOpe, where he digs deep into the roots of groove music all the while incorporating the modern sounds of machines. The album cover designed by Arno Lam appropriately pictures Katché sideways an African profile he says- and indeed Africa is the underlying musical theme of the whole album. But this sensual statue is highly flammable if you consider that Manu Katché also knows about dancing he practiced it as a kid, goes out dancing in clubs and after all, you need all four limbs to play the drums he himself remarks.

12th digital release finds The Vanished Dutchman in an inviting, dancing mood. You have to move to the adventurous groove as Funk, R&B and Latin and Pop are often mixed together. Still balanced out by the melodic to please the heart. Contrasting in happy (slapstick, humor (irony), energetic, exotic) and sad (dreamy, melancholic, epic). All conceived in an organic mix of colourful arrangements. Sing these songs in the shower (with or without a parachute)!