The Hip Smooth Jazz Album From Brian Johnson, Mystic Cove.

What’s new in the Jazz scene? Brian Johnson’s “Mystic Cove”. It is the long awaited musical and lyrical sounds-cape for the smooth Jazz lover that flows like a fresh water stream. A mix of well known musicians like Russ Freeman, Eric Hansen, Jeff Kashiwa, Sammy Figueroa, and others with Brian Johnson’s effortless symphonic smooth jazz create catchy breaks with dynamic horn and percussion parts and pop/ballad feel along with complex chords. One cannot help but admire this stunningly innovative mix of pop melodies blended with smooth jazz-style playing. Gargantuan production, along with experienced producing facilitates to give the album a big but well balanced sound. Jeff Kashiwa’s smooth sax style just falls into place nicely with the Brian Johnson’s composition on ‘Hope Town’ as well as Eric Hansen’s unique classical guitar feel in ‘Almost’ and the organic feel of “Smooth”. The album also boasts a funky undertone that demands attention and with the percussive foundation of Sammy Figueroa’s Latin twist just screams of sophisticated beats. Having had the chance to show her incomparable vocalist chops, Tomey Sellars can’t resist letting her trademark voice sail into the stratosphere as she does in the popish smooth jazz ballad song of “Almost”. The immediacy of the horns dancing with the rhythmic counterpoint gives listeners the sense that they are experiencing a live performance in a late-night hip jazz club. Great engineers, mixing talent like Marko Ruffolo, good studios, and other great musicians like Russ Freeman’ make this smooth jazz album also a well balanced but exciting attention keeper. Such concepts are the basis for his unique music and the album signals the arrival of an unmistakable new sound in smooth Jazz music.