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JoJo Styles: Bossa Nuevo

By Keith Hannaleck

Artist: JoJo Styles
Title: Bossa Nuevo Vol. 1 & 2
Genre: Instrumental-Latin-Jazz
Label: Casa Grande Records
Website: www.bossanuevo.com
My Bands Music - Profile

JoJo Styles had the benefit of developing his music while watching some of the legendary figures perform in San Francisco. He saw Hendrix and Santana and was all over the Bay Area attending the free concerts of the day. Those days are history but for the people that lived and soaked up the vibes of those times the memories are forever imprinted on their souls. He took bits and pieces of those influences and created his own magic on the acoustic six-string called Bossa Nuevo.

Styles compiled a lot of music over the years and it reached its fruition on two volumes titled Vol. 1 & 2 -Light of Love/The Offering (Cool Groove-Hot Guitar), with the emphasis on cool and hot of course.

Styles is an accomplished guitar player and an adept technician. He has a host of equally strong players for support on every track for both releases. In the world of recorded music, you must have the ability to understand how every aspect is linked and make sure you know how to take care of your equipment and keep it all properly tuned to work with the modern day technologies and all of their complexities. After listening to these two CDs, it is certainly apparent that this artist has it all together.

JoJo offers a fusion of styles with his Bossa Nuevo; it is an amalgam of Latin, jazz and rock. This ends up being a very satisfying and tasty mixture of the genre, all wrapped up into a nice package-a made to order ambiance on disc if you will. The artist, strongly influenced by the Latin musical cultures, uses its foundation of musical styles to propel him into different areas that become strengths as each track takes shape. The drive and spirit of this music seems ingrained in his soul. He actually spends part of his year soaking up the music and culture of Honduras to support his inner belief and love for his craft.

This is great music; it serves a multitude of purposes for listeners. If you want some smooth tracks, playing in the background as if you were at an upscale bistro or ethnic restaurant for instance, this would serve the purpose. The movie industry may consider this as an option for their productions as well. For the average listener it serves as something to relax and enjoy, to just kick back and contemplate things, or better yet to just empty your mind and go with the flow of the music.

Reviewed - April 13, 2008

Tracks:

Light of Love-Bossa Nuevo-Volume 1
Cool Groove-Hot Guitar

01. Bittersweet Love
02. Mr. B
03. Spanish Rain
04. Lighten Up
05. Bold Enough to Choose
06. Sugartime
07. Light of Love
08. Arise, Arise (My one and only)
09. Time Will Tell
10. That's Nice

The Offering-Bossa Nuevo-Volume 2
Cool Groove-Hot Guitar

01. Un Momento
02. Flambeau
03. Turn your face to the wind
04. Brazilian Dream
05. The Offer
06. My Soldier
07. Learn by doing
08. Living inside your love
09. A House is not a Home
10. When she cries

About the Author:

Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the promotion of artists via the various media outlets flourishing online. He has worked closely with artists, management, publicity directors, and webmasters to provide some of the best and far-reaching coverage an artist could have. Focusing primarily on the internet as a medium for his work, Keith has been a pioneer in the industry changing the way a reviewer with his various talents are used by many artists, PR folks, and labels. He has provided strong and valuable work to labels, artists, and publicity people, writing reviews, press releases, and biographies and much more over the years, giving the people he works with the maximum amount of exposure through several top-notch websites that post his content on their sites.

Hannaleck built and maintained his own website in 1998 while networking and building his reputation through thousands of reviews and interviews, creating a special niche for himself. Through many years of dedication and hard work, he has reached a respected level of competence and knowledge that is frequently sought by the music industry today. Known for his speaking from the heart interpretations of music and being able to put it in layman’s terms for music fans, his work is found everywhere in cyberspace and in traditional print media, from press kits to quotes from reviews in magazine advertisements.