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. ‘
The album opens with “The Nearness of You,” beginning with an unaccompanied vocal verse before the guitar and bass quietly enter. The performance is brief but telling, and Moody makes his point quickly, proving that concision can be just as powerful as expansion.
Thematically, The Ecstasy of Love explores romance as a lived experience filled with tenderness, conflict, and quiet hopefulness. This is especially apparent in his interpretation of “Easy to Love.” The familiar Cole Porter tune is stripped down to a simple bass and vocal duet, with its phrasing and pacing transformed in a way that’s unmistakably Moody’s own.
The album’s instrumentation is intentionally spare: voice, guitar, and bass. Moody is accompanied by Paul Bollenback on guitar and Neal “Sugar” Caine on bass, a duo whose restraint and sensitivity are essential to the album’s success. There are no drums, no horns, and no harmonic clutter: just space and nuance.
The production on The Ecstasy of Love is clean, warm, and unobtrusive, allowing the natural interplay between musicians to take center stage. Every note feels intentional, every silence meaningful. There is a sense that nothing has been added without reason and nothing has been left out by accident.
For listeners who value nuance, lyric intelligence, and emotional honesty, The Ecstasy of Love offers deep rewards. It’s proof that intimacy, when handled with this level of artistry, can be every bit as powerful as grandeur.