R. David Belew - San Michelle
Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Smooth Jazz
Mississippi, United States
Overall Impression: With its elegant mix of jazz, funk, and neo-soul, "San Michelle" is the dazzling new instrumental from artist R. David Belew who makes a marvelous return to music after a whopping 25 years, and what a return it is. There's something undeniably stylish about "San Michelle", so much so that you can't help but get swept up in its delicately mature and well-defined sound. It will be interesting to see what David conjures up next, if this is anything to go by, it will surely be another solid offering filled with plenty of sonic warmth, excellent performances, and an abundance of fantastic melodic ideas.
Strongest Point(s): I really do love the general vibe of "San Michelle", it just has that certain level of "coolness" that you only see in the jazz and fusion genres, rhythmic bounce, fascinating chord arrangements, and melodic maturity combine to create a deeply absorbing musical soundscape to really sink your teeth into, and it's definitely one of those tracks that if you're a musician yourself, makes you want to pick up an instrument and jam along, and any song that can accomplish such a feat is certainly doing something right. The instrumentation is well chosen and includes a diverse range of instruments, each injecting its own individual characteristics into the track and ensuring the song is both full of personality and tonal variation, this is made all the better by a brilliant recording, each and every element of the track has been well-captured, ensuring the delicate nuance of each instrument has been well represented in the final mix.
Target Audience Appeal: Fans of contemporary jazz fusion will love what "San Michelle" has to offer, and due to its eclectic mix of styles, it certainly has a broad appeal to a varied audience of music lovers.
Artist target suggestions: George Benson, Larry Carlton, John Scofield, Bob James, Peter White, Norman Brown, Euge Groove, George Howard, Jeff Golub, Hiroshima, Joe Sample, David Sanborn, Richard Elliot, Chris Stranding
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About the Reviewer:
Andre Avanessian is a freelance session musician, composer, and sound engineer based in the U.K. Having studied music production and composition at degree level, he has taken his passion for all things audio-related to a level that has allowed him to become both a competent musician and performer. Being a self-confessed "Guitar Nerd" Andre has been continually studying the guitar, as well as teaching it, helping students both learn the instrument, develop their songwriting, and how to become proficient in home recording.