JAZZ…Charles Di Raimondo’s brand new recording, The Sound of Jazz has been a labour of love from start to finish. Produced and arranged by Di Raimondo, brilliantly recorded Mike Tompa, and mixed by John “Beetle” Bailey, the CD is an emotional and visceral exploration of vocal jazz and the art of the trio. There is no artifice here – simply a gifted singer, irresistible original tunes and fine musicianship in the form of Stu Harrison on piano, Ross MacIntyre on bass and Terry Clarke on drums. “This is the kind of record that I’ve always wanted to make.” says Charles. “After producing various records with cover songs and standards, I felt that it was the right time in my career to harvest all of the songs that I had written and had collaborated on, and put them all on one, very personal CD”. Included on the project are the snappy, up-temp opener, “Tonight’s the Night”, “I Think I’m in Love”, “Those Nights in Madrid” (sung in Spanish and English), “Summer Rain” – a melancholy, cinematic blues; the syncopated cooker of a title track, the breathtaking ballad, “Bianca Spiaggia (White Sands)”, rendered gorgeously by Charles in Italian; the contemporary and swinging “Run to Me”, the molto romantico “Softly Swaying” and the rousing closer - the very American and very soulful “Livin’ in a House of Blues”.