Suzanne Grzanna: “DAYbreak” – a potpourri that is sure to please most jazz aficionados 

She’s chic, gorgeous and immensely talented. Suzanne Grzanna’s latest offering,“DAYbreak”, is a musical potpourri that is sure to please most jazz aficionados. A superb sax player, an already highly nuanced vocalist and a promising composer, Suzanne is a triple threat who may very well be one of the key figures in defining the direction jazz will be heading in the 21st century.  

She’s won multiple awards and performed at prestigious halls such as the Blue Note, Birdland, Preservation Hall, Cinegrill, and the Hollywood Bowl. Suzanne has had sit-­‐ins with players such as Frank Morgan, Dave Hazeltine, Bryan Lynch, Betty Carter, Ray Brown Jr., Charles McPherson, John Hurd, and Jeff Goldblum to name a few. 

There’s a ton of variety on “DAYbreak”, everything from the stunning opening arrangement of Little Willie John’s “Fever”to the sassy smart instrumental of“Daybreak”, the unsentimental poppy sweetness of “It Had To Be You”, not to mention the balls out straight ahead hipness of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” and the tour de force swing, “Almost Like Being In Love”.  

Her singing vibrato timbre on this tune simply has to heard to be believed. Is there nothing that this woman can’t do? Apparently not. And the fact that she sings and plays, equally as effortlessly, puts her in a class by herself.  

Spread the word, there’s a new lady in town:Suzanne Grzanna’s, and she’s bringing her ‘A’ game to the area of music called Jazz and Swing. And what a refreshing brew it is. What I love about this CD is the variety on offer.  

The bonus that Suzanne has is that along with her skills as a saxophonist, she has a great voice that I would imagine, along with her looks, would make her a marketing dream. But she still has to deliver the goods, and she does. This is a solid set that should make this lady a star, if there’s any justice in the music world.  

Though already an acclaimed performer, Suzanne Grzanna, no doubt, has a tremendous future as a group leader on stage and in the studio. She has a lithe, airy and lovely golden-toned voice; has prodigious, fleet-fingered and sinuous saxophone technique; and produces or interprets artful musical compositions. And she often does this in a spellbinding manner.  

If you’re a jazz head (or not) and you’re looking for the next wave of classic recordings and talent in that idiom, get “DAYbreak” and rejoice. Suzanne Grzanna’s voice is awesome, her playing is solid, and the songs are intriguingly arranged.  

While her accompanying band made up of Ray Tabs (Keyboards), Hal Miller (Bass), Andy LoDuca (Drums), and Scott Currier (Keyboards – ‘Daybreak’), are more than capable of taking your breath away. The album seems to be packed with talent, but that combination of voice and saxophone is something else altogether! 

FEATURED ON JAMSPHERE MAGAZINE 

Chuck Murphy: “Peace Be With You” – literate, poetic and mesmerizing! 

  

Chuck Murphy is an award winning American singer-songwriter from Bloomington MN. In 2015 Murphy’s first single from his first solo EP, quickly moved from AC to Top 40 and then crossed over to the Country charts. The single written by Murphy and produced by Murphy and his long time co-producer Jeff Silverman and a new friend Ainsley Hall Hubbard won two awards, Mainstream Favorite Impact artist 2015 and Favorite Country Crossover 2015. In 2016 Chuck Murphy’s successful run continued as his debut single “How Many Times” (One West) reached all the way to number one.  

Chuck Murphy  He has nominations from New Music Weekly for Top 40 breakthrough artist, AC/HotAC New Artist and AC/HotAC breakthrough artist. Chuck Murphy’s new EP “Peace Be With You” has won 4 awards and a nomination for an “Hollywood Music in Media Award”.  

He has also had three #1 hits with over 22 million listens to one of his songs, “Falling Star”, on SoundCloud®. As can be clearly from all of the above information Chuck Murphy has been crafting a rather impressive catalog of award-winning music.  

Quite simply, he is another one of the great American songwriters of this era, writing lyrics that are literate, poetic and mesmerizing. He’s easily the equal of some of the greats, the only difference being that, at least right now, I’d much rather listen to Murphy.  

This album captures some of his best known songs in both their original form and also remixed. The sound quality is excellent, the performances outstanding. If this one grabs you, then rejoice, as good organic music is hard to come by.  

The band…live  

That Chuck Murphy is an incredible songwriter and performer who is clearly on a rapid ascension within Americana music, becomes in more vivid when play the track “Peace be with you”. This is wonderful music executed to near perfection. For the Southern folk and rock fan who likes a little country twist (no tacky country cheese or twang), or the folk and country fan who is ready to abandon manufactured paint-by-numbers sound-alikes, try this out.  

This is Southern music that captures a sound missed by the major genres. “Peace be with you” is injected with colorful harmonies and subtle exotic musical flavors which are masterfully guided by Murphy’s uplifting melody.  
 

But the only way you arrive to such excellence as the above closing track, is to start off on a really high note. And that is exactly what Chuck Murphy does by opening the album with his record-breaking track, “Falling star”. All the beauty and grace of Murphy’s music is captured within this track – Proof that you don’t have to do anything transcendental in music to make an impact.  

The album cover  

Chuck Murphy exudes the same fleshed-out, but simple elegance which James Taylor delivers in his musical arrangements – solid melodies, luscious harmonies and a talented group of musicians playing in a tight, lean, and understated style. This forms the perfect platform for Murphy’s smooth, expressive voice and his multidimensional guitar styles.  

The lyrics and melody are so evocative and smartly written on “Rolling down the highway” where Murphy ponders love. When he slows it down, as he does on“How many times”, Murphy tells stories and conjures emotional states with exceptional depth and it gives the songs real impact. This record has a lot of layers and textures, and you will derive deep enjoyment from both upbeat tracks “Whisper on the wind” and “Cowgirls”.  

It is always a joy to discover new music of this quality, and I will certainly be looking to findChuck Murphy’s back-catalog very soon. For now, I’m listening to this album repeatedly and getting more out of it each time. I’d recommend this very warmly to anyone who likes beautiful, thoughtful and intelligent songs.

LISTEN NOW FOR FREE!​

 

Folk, Americana, Country-Folk 

Singer-Songwriter, Indie

acoustic guitar, mandolin, light acoustic piano, bright tempos, vocal background oohs and aahs and smooth whistling, fiddle, and occasional light strings.

WRITTEN BY  RENEE TERRELONGE
WHO IS D. EDWARD THE MUSICIAN?

D. Edward illustrates a smooth voice with his "Pretty Eyes" record. When listening, I was sitting in the car with my Iphone going through the bluetooth and his song blasting through the speakers; and surprisingly enough, i did not want to revert back to Sirius XM  radio; I listen to the record three times (3). What does that means? it means the song is good, really good, the production was on point outside a one point taken away as the mastering could have bring out D. Edward Voice just a little more. D. Edward reminded me of real singing, he gave me the feeling as it I was listening to Tony! Toni! Toné Lead singer Raphael Saadiq. listen to Dale Edwards Podcast below and let us know what  you think of this defining artist. 

ABOUT THE D. EDWARD: 

Growing up in Oakland California, Singer, Songwriter and Multi-Instrumentalist D. Edward began his musical journey growing up in an eclectic musical household, influenced by what his parents and older brothers were listening to on the radio and on records. These influences included old school R&B/Funk, Soul, Pop, Hip Hop, Country, Latin and African music, as well as crooners like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
Read more here: 
http://dedwardmusic.com/bio 

His Team: 

United States 
Distribution: 
Independent Distribution Collective (IDC) 
2001 Van Ness Ave San Francisco CA 
(415)292-7007 
www.independentdistro.com 

Publicity: 
Billy James - Glass Onyon PR 
glassonyonpr@gmail.com 

Booking: 
Liz Bagala 
booking@dedwardmusic.com 

Radio: 
Adam Liebowitz 
adam@aslmusicmedia.com 
www.aslmusicmedia.com 

Legal: 
Ned Hearn 
nedheardml@aol.com 

10th & Clay Records 
PO Box 24251 Oakland, CA 94623