Ivan - Westbound:
Westbound is the Italian duo of guitarist Cristian Rocco and drummer Enrico Catena. Rocco graduated from the prestigious CPM music school in Milan, and fine-tuned his chops by attending various clinics conducted by guitarists such as Frank Gambale and Alain Caron. Meanwhile, Catena played piano for 3 years as a kid before switching to drums. He played festivals across Europe, worked in some of the most prominent Italian recording studios, and appeared in many national TV shows.

Rocco and Catena first connected in 2001, after more than a decade of session work and touring in Italy and abroad. United by their common passion for "the West Coast music scene" and inspired by the works of Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, and David Benoit, they began working toward a long-time ambition. Recently that dream was realized with the release of Miles Away, their debut as Westbound. In spite of being miles away from the West Coast, Westbound is right in tune with the smooth groove of today's jazz. From that release we have their excellent Brazilian tinged tribute to Ivan Lins!!

CD: Miles Away
Label: Independent
Site: Westbound

It's Too Late - Michael Lington:
Since launching his solo career in 1997, Michael Lington has delivered a steady stream of hits. His previous release, Stay with Me, yielded two #2's and a #6 hit while past efforts bore a trio of top five tracks to go along with the chart topping Tell It Like It Is, a duet with Bobby Caldwell, from his self-titled debut. Now Lington is back with A Song For You, his second on Rendezvous Entertainment. Lington explains, "With this album, I really wanted to focus on … songs from the '70s that have been rarely covered in a jazz instrumental format", and, "to create a classic album, with a timeless feel that is as current today as it is 40 years from now." Now, if the rest of the album lives up to the advance single, a cover of the 1971 Carole King hit It's Too Late, Lington may well have succeeded in creating that timeless classic !!

CD: A Song For You
Label: Rendezvous Entertainment
Site: Michael Lington ; Rendezvous

Saxy - Vince Madison:
A Colorado native, Madison began his career as a guitarist but switched to piano as a sophomore in college feeling it would be a better vehicle for his true passion of composing. He graduated with honors, earning a degree in music composition and went on to become the keyboardist for a top jazz group in Denver before relocating to New York City. There he continued his studies at Julliard while becoming immersed in the NYC studio scene, working with rap and R&B artists, such as Grand Master Flash.
Upon his return to Denver, Madison focused on what became a series of works for solo piano, garnering many positive reviews while achieving impressive sales.

After a half-dozen projects that primarily fell into the new age category, he chose a new direction, returning to his jazz roots, with Spice of Life. Regardless of the genre, Madison's philosophy has always been to make music for people who love music, an ideology that meshes perfectly with our own. From Spice of Life, we've selected a tune that pretty well rates as a modern jazz classic. The sax playing of Jacob Teichrow is featured on the selection but it's Madison's own keyboard work that creates the wonderful groove that drives this melody!!

CD: Spice of Life
Label: Firefly Records
Site: Vince Madison

Another Place & Time - Doc Powell :
Two decades and ten cds into his solo career, Doc Powell is still going strong. Powell's musical journey started in Spring Valley, NY. He began playing guitar when he was six and started recording and performing while still in his teens. Completely self-taught, Powell received his first big break when Wilson Pickett chose him as his music director. Powell was barely in his 20s at the time. This subsequently led to a stint with Luther Vandross and an affiliation that lasted a dozen or more years. Performing with Vandross catapulted Powell to another level as a musician!

Although he released his debut in '87, it wasn't until his third album, '94's Inner City Blues that Powell began to hit his stride as a solo artist. A couple of years later, he enjoyed his biggest commercial success with Laid Back; by year's end, it was rated the #2 jazz record for 1996. It's taken another full ten years but The Doctor is now poised to celebrate what may be his best release to date. From that effort, we have Another Place & Time, a track that harkens to some of the finest moments in a long and distinguished career!!

CD: Doc Powell (self-titled)
Label: Heads Up
Site: Doc Powell ; Powell/Heads Up