JAMBA

Reviews: Music is one of the most profound ways of expressing a profound sentiment, a state of mind...a human condition...especially the condition of the heart...leftover memories or unresolved entanglements still stirring within us must follow the course of Time. Paradise or otherwise, an Artist must dismantle the fragments piece by piece, only to put it back together or to use the shovel of oblivion and bury it all…bury it out of sight.

In this edition of our Artist Spotlights, we present to you the words and music of Jammes Castro a.k.a. "Jamba", pianist/vocalist/songwriter whose young, but storied career had him crossing paths or currently working with some of the industry heavy hitters. A fateful meeting with bass great Abraham Laboriel, chain reacted and netted him the experience of Michael Omartian's tutelage. Omartian, producer to artists such as Christopher Cross, Al Jearreau, Rod Stewart…Donna Summer (who had Jamba as her main pianist/keyboardist while recording in Nashville) encouraged Jamba to go the solo artist route…subsequently landing him back in his native NYC, where he now pursues his budding solo career.

Lighting up our Spotlights are two songs from Jamba, which can easily skyrocket him into the ranks of John Legend, Norah Jones, or any artist past or present, who possess that inherent sensitivity to chordal nuances, and of course the beauty of melody. The Autumnal atmosphere of Say Goodbye…a recognition of the "bittersweet inevitable" with lookbacks and a glimmer of Rendezvous in the future. Can one really be so brave, or is it because felt songs have that fortifying quality to conquer such crossroads moments? You tell us Jamba…tell us "it's alright"…tell us the way of the Seasons.

Second Chance, is a tug of war between what still stings and what you can't let go, then ultimately—"what's left standing"…"loves supposed to be all you need…love will bring you back to me…with only a…second chance". For those of you also finding yourselves riveted to Jamba's playing—his solo bridge reflects the touch and go mood of this track at 3:10 to 3:20, he pulls off two beautiful changes…a slight Jarrettism indeed, as Keith is a driving force icon in his music.

Time to light up the fire…as the Flight lays over on a chilly eve this Fall. Headphones…an easy chair…a glass of red. Acknowledgements for this feature: Brau, Paul (The Hague), Cindy da Silva, Manager, da Silva Artists, and of course he who played and sang—Jamba.