As your former teacher at McCallSchool, I am very proud of you.  I loved listening to the CD.
I played it for my high school students, who loved listening to the CD. One of my students is playing jazz, so I directed him to your web site. Continue to pursue your passion!                                                                                                                                       
Love, 
Dr. RossI
                            Read more...
                        

                            
Recently heard Jaleel for the first time on a local radio station...was immediately interested in purchasing the cd.  Each time I listen to this album, I hear something new..especially with headphones.  I am first struck by his absolutely beautiful tone and his tasteful use of his vibrato.  I enjoy every tune and am quite impressed with his cohorts...they do a splendid job of improvising, listening to each other and handing off their solos in a smooth and flowing manner.  The energy levels on this album range from quite high and driving to very mellow and dreamlike...and I was most pleased to find that there was none of the cacoponous squeeling and honking that some sax players tend to overindulge in(IMHO).  The more one listens, the more one hears in this album...at times, punctuated, at one point I thought I was listening to Return to Forever.....Keep up the wonderful work...I am sure I will continue to get many hours of enjoyment listening to this gem.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
This is the best cd I've heard since "Perspective".  My favorite tune is "The Struggle" but every tune is excellent!!!
                            Read more...
                        

                            
And the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for 2007 goes to…drumroll…tension builds…the envelope is nervously fumbled then opened…Herbie Hancock for River: The Joni Letters! That’s pretty much how it played out. As Hancock graciously paid tribute to many of his colossal influences, jazz aficionados everywhere rejoiced. Nevermind that names such as Tina Turner, Corinne Bailey Rae and Norah Jones were enlisted for this project a la Carlos Santana’s Supernatural. The fact remains that Hancock achieved this high honor without any of the aforementioned guitar hero’s mainstream exposure. Clearly, this feat gives jazz musicians and listeners cause for celebration. In Jaleel Shaw’s case, it’s cause for Optimism. 

Featuring a backing corps of Robert Glasper, Joe Martin, Lage Lund, Johnathan Blake and Jeremy Pelt, Optimism showcases the delivered promise of jazz’ tomorrow. The sound is at times relentlessly swift and frenzied like “Flipside” where the maddening pace persists until about the 6:45 mark where Lage Lund’s melodious guitar seems to sooth this beast of a track bringing all of its disparate elements into harmony. At times the sound is hypnotic like the trance inducing “Flight” where Shaw reveals his hip hop sensibility keeping the composition sparse, yet ethereal with little more than Blake’s percussion and Glasper’s Fender Rhodes. The track’s organic feel brings to mind the Jazzmatazz series or Buckshot LeFonque. 

Optimism also showcases Shaw’s instinctive ability to either take charge or collaborate with his cohorts. For instance, on the title track Blake and Lund set the tempo but it’s Shaw who acts as the agitator urging the players to assume an increasingly aggressive stance without overpowering them or transforming the track into a brooding mess. Yet, he relents at the 10:15 mark when the track slips into a melodic coda punctuated by Glasper’s searching Rhodes. In contrast, “Love for Sale” casts Shaw as the consummate collaborator propelling Pelt’s trumpet to the forefront where he embraces the standard’s beautiful Latin/New Orleans swing pacing and its familiar refrain. 

Though I’m confident Shaw doesn’t anticipate embarking upon a Hancock-like award tour with his latest release, the Grammy exposure should shine a light on a genre of music that many identify only with small, smoke-filled clubs and forsaken vinyl stacked away in dusty milk crates. That light would reveal a generation of young jazz talent respectful of its musical tradition and eager to push its already expansive boundaries. Muscians with whom both Wynton and Branford could identify and jam.
                            Read more...