BACK TO COOL

For those of you who thought jazz was dead, I submit to you a group of young jazz musicians who are bringing the flavor back.

Christian Scott is a brilliant trumpeter. At age 22, he is already on par with the legends of jazz. Whether he's cutting loose on the horn or holding back for a more mellow sound, popping in his CD Rewind That is like a burst of fresh air. It's great mellow music for when you're sitting around the house, kicking back, relaxing, writing, or doing whatever. The song "Giant Steps" is like an auditory massage, and the trumpet just washes over you like a soothing bath. It's backed by a subtle percussion line and some keyboards. Listening to it just put me in a different state of mind, because after it was over, I just didn't have a problem in the world, didn't care what I was just talking about or doing, and forgot that taxes are due in a couple of days. The more upbeat title track "Rewind That" didn't move me much out of this mood either. The album is on the store shelves now, and I highly recommend it. You can check christianscott.net for upcoming appearances, to sample the music I just told you about, and to buy his music through ITunes.

Taylor Eigsti is just the right choice for those of you who enjoy your jazz more with piano rather than horns. The 21 year old is already magical on the keyboard. His song "Argument" is a wonderful listening experience, and I just love the way he tickles the ivory. It starts off slow, then there's a fast movement, after which he again puts on the brakes, and well, there's just many many nice movements in the song. It's sort of up and down like you'd expect an actual argument to be. There's a bit of jazz and funk mish-mashed throughout his work. "Giant Steps" is just the type of slow melody that I love, and you'd expect to hear this song in a tender moment in a movie. The song does pick up the action after the first couple of minutes, and Taylor goes to work on the keys yet again. Overall, it's very pleasing. His album, Lucky to Be Me is available now. You can check him out on the web at tayzazz.com

Erin Boheme's instrument is her voice. And it's a nice voice. For 19 years old, she has a nice tone. To hear you, you'd almost expect to see her in a red dress, sitting atop a piano in some smoky lounge. "What Love Is" is a slow soulful ballad, and you can just hear Erin connect with the emotion. Her voice is a combination of soprano goodness and sultry sexiness, and she sort of brings to your mind a picture of younger, blonder Jessica Rabbit (from Who Framed Roger Rabbit) and I mean that in the best way possible. "Someone to Love" is a more pop influenced ballad, but she still has the same great vocals. Her voice just cuts right to the heart and pulls every single string. Her album What Love Is just came out last week. You can listen to Erin sing on her website at erinboheme.com.

Fear not, jazz fans. The freshman class has things well in hand.