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For those unaware, Jazz vocalist Michael Moody delivers a recording that feels both timeless and quietly revelatory with his latest release, “The Ecstasy of Love.” Completely stripped of excess, this new album finds Moody returning to the core of the jazz vocal tradition: intimate storytelling, melodic flexibility, and deep respect for lyric.

At just over 36 minutes, The Ecstasy of Love is concise by design, yet it feels remarkably complete. Moody presents a dozen well-known standards with a breath of fresh air, proving that the classics are still capable of surprise. The result is an album that rewards close listening and emotional attention rather than spectacle.

This record draws heavily from the lineage of straight-ahead jazz vocalists and is dedicated to Carmen McRae. The classic influences inform both Moody’s phrasing and his willingness to subtly reconfigure melodies.

1. The Nearness of You
2. Embraceable You
3. Unforgettable
4. Easy To Love
5. Ghost of a Chance
6. I’m Lost
7. Body and Soul
8. Good Morning Heartache
9. Don’t Explain
10. You’ve Changed
11. I’m Gonna Lock My Heart
12. Old Rugged Cross

A native New Yorker who has studied with some of today’s leaders of jazz music, Moody and his pals open their new recording on a concisely immersive The Nearness of You and the ___________ of Embraceable You, and then brings us the _____________ of Unforgettable, a gloriously stripped down Cole Porter rendition of Easy To Love and both the cleanly warm Ghost of a Chance and the emotive I’m Lost.

Along next is the _______ of Body and Soul and the ______________ of Good Morning Heartache, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the _________ of Don’t Explain, the resonant You’ve Changed, the set rounding out on the _________ of I’m Gonna Lock My Heart, coming to a close on a dutifully impassioned Old Rugged Cross.

Musicians:
Michael Moody - vocals
Paul Bollenback - guitar
Neal “Sugar” Caine - bass