Jazz fans, listen up, Tom Petrone's new single "Mr. Jazz" will carry you on a playful joy ride into high-energy jazz, and it's the perfect reminder of why we can still be surprised by and delighted with the musical genre. From the first note, you can hear the life and personality that Petrone breathes into any horn line, written dynamically enough despite being created by, somewhat unexpectedly for a rock act this energized, sung before ever being touched by an instrument. The result is a sound that's lean, soulful, and full of spontaneity.
Recorded at the legendary Oceanway in Nashville, "Mr. Jazz" has received a thoughtful touch from multiple Grammy-winning producer Zach Allen and is rounded out by mastering courtesy of Richard Dodd, allowing every single note to shine with stunning clarity. It's a tribute to the classic jazz way, bold, brassy, and swinging with unbridled joy, but also somehow thoroughly modern.
Petrone's lifelong love affair with music, which started with playing guitar and singing at the tender age of three, is evidenced in every harmony, every flourish. His wide-ranging influences include the melodic innovations of the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck's startling twists, the genial jazz dabbling of Sting, Henry Mancini-like orchestral melodies, and Joni Mitchell's understanding of songwriting as an art form. Oh yes, and a whole mess o' Bill Evans chordal smooth talking, steeped in Tony Bennett vocal charisma, make up Glen Burtnik "Mr. Jazz" is the result of Petrone's approach to writing and recording daily, which ultimately translates into a freshness and authenticity that can't be manufactured.
This is more than just a jazz track, it's a celebration. It's playful, precise, inventive, and patently approachable when "Mr. Jazz" is finished, you feel like snapping your fingers, tapping your feet, and grinning ear to ear. It's a song that shows Tom Petrone is more than a bandleader who can figure out how to play anything, he knows the history, has a fantastic spirit and heart, and clearly loves what he does.