Bewitched

Blessed and Bewitched is a deeply personal reflection of Vienna vocalist Maja Jaku's artistic spirit. Growing up immersed in the sounds of jazz with her trumpet player father, and later through studies with mentors at the Graz Conservatory - including Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan, Andy Bey and Jay Clayton - Jaku's art evolved through her life-long devotion to the jazz legacy continuum.

Blessed & Bewitched is a deeply personal reflection of Vienna vocalist Maja Jaku's artistic spirit. Growing up immersed in the sounds of jazz with her trumpet player father, and later through studies with mentors at the Graz Conservatory—including Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan, Andy Bey and Jay Clayton—Jaku's art evolved through her life-long devotion to the jazz legacy continuum. With encouragement from drummer Johnathan Blake, Jaku assembled an extraordinary ensemble to mark this period of her path and recorded this, her fifth album, in New York City along with Blake, bassist Dezron Douglas, pianist Alan Bartuš, and trumpeter Michael Rodriguez. Co-producer/drummer Adrian Varady also performed on a track that he composed. Jaku invites listeners into this set of five original songs and two classics, providing a journey through a space of reflection, connection, and emotional honesty.

Edward Haydn Higgins (February 21, 1932 - August 31, 2009) was a jazz pianist, composer, and orchestrator. Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Higgins initially studied privately with his mother. He started his professional career in Chicago, Illinois, while studying at the Northwestern University School of Music…