Luca Boscagin

Francesca Confortini & Ryan Mackenzie: Mosaico

Read "Mosaico" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
March 20, 2026

There is a quiet conviction at the heart of Mosaico, a recording that treats Brazil's songbook not as a postcard scene but as a living repertoire. Vocalist Francesca Confortini and arranger Ryan Mackenzie have crafted the album as its title indicates: a patchwork of styles: samba, bossa nova, baião, and MPB; thoughtfully arranged alongside Brazilian rhythms and other musical elements. The result isn't fusion or pastiche, but something more solid, founded on respect for tradition. The album opens ...

Album Review

Denise Mangiardi: On the Brink

Read "On the Brink" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
August 7, 2024

Originally from Freeport, Long Island, New York and now residing on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, multi-faceted vocalist, composer, arranger, and engineer, Denise Mangiardi offers On the Brink, her eighth album as leader. Consisting of seven exceptionally well-performed selections with a handful of vivid originals and two classics, this is a masterful effort that is intriguing, enlightening, and a most enjoyable listen. “The Walk" is a lovely light bossa nova that is lushly beautiful. ...

Album Review

Simon Lasky Group: About The Moment

Read "About The Moment" reviewed by Geno Thackara

by Geno Thackara
July 15, 2019

Which moment could this title be referring to? There's no shortage of beautifully striking ones scattered throughout the Simon Lasky Group's second outing: dynamic lifts and swells, chord changes that step through sophisticated sequences as smoothly as descending stairs, little heads or melody lines that pack a special hit because they're placed at just the right spot in the larger context of the piece. The whole album is really an extended moment of happy togetherness, presented as a mosaic of ...