Discovery Zone
With so much new music coming out it’s hard to keep up with what ‘s new. Especially when an artist or album is underpromoted and/or does not get played on broadcast and streming outlets, and social media only reaches people who already know the artist and follow them. This is a space for those under the radar artists and releases that are definitely worth checking out. Click on the song titles to listen. Enjoy!
Guitarist Will Sumner may be one of the best artists you’ve barely heard of, and may not haveheard of at all. His latest release, Meadowlark, is the 10th in a series of excellent albums he has released since his debut Tropic Zone, in 1980. A Californian by birth, he was living in Minneapolis and a part of the thriving music scene there at the time. It would be 20 years before his sophmore effort, Desde Mi Corazon. By then he had moved back to California, started his family and was doing film scores and commercial work. The title track and the song “Dangerous Ground” caught the attention of radio programmers and he has since released 8 CJazz albums and a holiday collection. Although his music is accessible, melodic and commercial a lot of it is considered “too edgy” for traditional smooth jazz radio because of the pop and rock influences, uptempo songs, and electric guitar solos Can you think of any better reason to get to know his music though? His newest release is Meadowlark. It’s a collection of songs inspired by the time he spent on his grandmothers farm during during his childhood and teen years. It’s one of his more mellow releases and full of gorgeous playing and well crafted songs.
Japanese keyboardist Rei Narita caught my attention when Nelson Rangell did a guest shot on his “Run Through The Urban City” single. Narita has released a series of excellent singles over the last year and has three smooth jazz projects called The Color Of Soundscapes . His fusion/contemporary band, Ear Candy Jazz Factory, released their debut album in in 2019 and a three song EP, Vaisrivna, in 2023 . The drummer and bassist were all still in their teens when the first album was recorded. Reviewers have accurately compared him to David Benoit and Jeff Lorber. ECJF’s first full album “Tangerine Peel Jam” is a must listen, especially if you enjoy the sound of contemporary jazz from the late 80s and early 90s. This isn’t a throwback, it’s just an accessible, enjoyalble set of music that doesn’t play it safe.
Kandace Springs has a voice that will melt you. As an interpreter she turns every song she sings into a story. Prince heard her sing and invited her to Paisley Park to perform with him then became one of her mentors. Her original inspiration was Norah Jones’ iconic Come Away With Me album. Hearing it set her on the path to becoming a vocalist/pianist who chooses songs she feels regardless of genre, Her latest album, The Women Who Raised Me, is a tribute to the female musicians who have influenced her over the years – everyone from Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald to Norah Jones and Sade. Ready for goosebumps? Watch her duet with Daryl Hall on the Live at Daryl’s House series.
Let’s play the “if you like – then you’ll like” game. If you like Pat Metheny and Fourplay, Korean guitarist Jack Lee is going to be right down your alley. He lists Metheny as his main influence and most of his albums feature Bob James, often with Fourplay anchors Harvey Mason and Nathan East and there are frequent guest shots from GRP founder/legend Dave Grusin. He has been part of East’s touring band. Start with his two Asianergy albums, which are heavily influenced by Fourplay and La Habana, which was produced by East. Check out the gorgeous “Emerald Dream”, the Into The Night album and the two Asianergy projects.
Kimberlye’ McKinney’s website bio describes her as a woman of strength, power and unlimited energy whose music is defined as edgy, classy and fun. An artist who has a fresh sound, fresh face, and steps over ordinary into extraordinary. That’s why you’re reading about her here. Her new album Have My Cake is a story of trials, victorious triumph, and power, while still demonstrating love and fearlessness. You will feel all of those emotions on the passionate “Fighting Dragons” which has shades of classic fusion going on and the Sanborn influenced “Farsighted.” The thing that makes the music on this album stand out is its authenticity. It isn’t buried under layers of high gloss production and perhaps because she did it herself these songs dont fall into formula or musical cliche. She is in the “daytime job” groove as an entrepreneur and after work she makes beautiful music. Visit her website to find out more.
Again into the “like this then try this” realm. Like Keiko Matsui and David Benoit’s more adventurous music – then discover Kait Dunton. Especially her band TrioKait. The L.A. based pianist, educator, and composer bridges contemporary and progressive always with a strong sense of melody. Solo and with her trio she is known for innovative compositions, wide-ranging influences and an uncategorizable, infectious take on modern music. She recently released two vocal singles, both in the jazzy bluesy vein – “You Gotta Know” and “Ready To Fly.” “Ready to Fly” features vocalist Kenton Chen, one of the featured vocalists with PostModern Jukebox. What a voice! Listen here and step into her trio music with Chrysocolla (song starts at 1:05) Live is always better so for more check out her live album on your favorite streaming service.
Saxophonist D.S. Wilson first showed up on my Spotify Release Radar playlist. It stood out because of the quality of the production, songwriting and musicianship. There was an album link so I checked out the album and found an excellent set of original songs, well produced and with no filler. I bought three of them and put them in rotation. Listening at work there was one song stood out so much that I kept checking the playlist to see what it was. It was “Nightfall,” the opening track of his Skyline album. As it turns out this was his third album. The title track was released as a single , it attraced some airplay and playlist attention, then while he was on the Dave Koz Cruise he was able to connect with format hit maker Adam Hawley who produced the album. The Wilson-Hawley collaboration “Leave it to the Gods” got radio and chart attention and so far has over 200k plays on Spotify. He got over a million plays overall – a solid showing for a new artist in a niche genre.
Wilson is currently based in Chicago where he does regular gigs. He started out playing in rock bands when he was in college in North Carolina and continued performing in rock bands and playing at weddings and events in variety bands then spent a 10 year period pretty much away from music. With encouagement from his wife he started playing and recording, focusing on contemporary jazz. His first two album were self funded and self produced and got him some media attention and playlist listings. Both are solid but Skyline was a big step forward. He is currently working on a fourth, Metamorphosis, with Jeff Carruthers and Steve Oliver handling the production. The first single from the proect, Pocket Change, just dropped. Wilson also has an indiegogo crowd funding page to help defray the costs of taking his work to the next level.