The Jazz Zine
Jim Savitt - "Hear & Now" CD Review 

NightCast Records 

All right, I’ll admit it. I’m a hard nosed straight ahead jazz person that cannot be swayed into contemporary jazz, at least until now. The thought of “smooth jazz” taking over much of the airwaves forces me to cringe with displeasure. Most of it is a sort of “pap” disguised as jazz. Anyway, the whole concept of labeling everything in music is totally out of control. It always comes down to the old adage: It’s either good music or bad. Period.

When I received the Jim Savitt - Hear & Now CD, based on my principles and prejudices, I wasn’t about to review it nor give it a listen to. Well, as luck would have it, on a trip to Arizona I loaded up some CDs into the car for the journey across the desert. Inadvertently, much to my surprise, Hear & Now was included in the bundle. So, tooling across Interstate 8, I found myself listening. What I found in this music was that is was good and of a high quality. Indeed, it put me into a state of well being. This music relaxed me. Sure, there weren’t any mind boggling solos or intellectual and complex compositions. I don’t believe this music was intended to go down that path.

After listening to the complete compact disc, I came away with a tremendous feeling of musicianship. Music that was well crafted and very likable in every sense. There’s a very therapeutic feature in the sound of Hear & Now. You come away feeling good about yourself and the world around you suddenly isn’t wrought with troubles anymore. I realized by shunning this venue of jazz, I may have been depriving myself of something wholesome, tasty and refreshing in every sense.

Jim Savitt has a nice delivery and pleasing sound much in the George Benson vein. His writing - most of the compositions are penned by him - is fruitful, neat and succinct. He displays a lot of sensitivity exampled by the track, Without you and Was it you . I believe he has the “chops” and perhaps one day may choose to expand his musical explorations a bit further. Meanwhile, if you need relaxation when crossing the desert or just want some peace and self-assurances in your quiet place, this music will furnish all of that for you.

For Purchase and more information contact: www.NightCastRecords.com

Ó The Jazz Zine
Read This Review At The Jazz Zine

* Back to press page

 

Home | Bio | Press | Photos | Video | Buy CD | Gigs | Booking | Gear