By Erman Baradi

Let it be known I am not a huge fan of jazz. I take it back. Let’s just say I am not a devout listener. Surely, a classic comes on and I sway with the rest of them. But you don’t have to be a jazz fanatic to enjoy “Feels Like Jazz” by Sasha’s Bloc off the album Heart on Fire.

Looking up the group’s official site you’ll notice a certain age demo presented by most of the group’s members. Still, this throwback to golden age of blues bridges the gap between old school and contemporary with “Feels Like Jazz.” The ensemble, known across Southern California, blends vocals, percussion, piano, strings, trombone, and sax to perfection here.

“Feels Like Jazz” welcomes you with a set of vocals both sultry and playful while the instruments take their turns in the spotlight, almost like a call and response composition. It’s as if the band is in the on the fun, which makes for a merrier time. You’ll picture an evening in a 1930’s nightclub, fedora and all.

Jane Monheit, the featured vocalist here, carries a certain confidence to her demeanor. It brings out that seductiveness best felt at a live jazz show. She delivers the lyrics with a staccato style that shows off vocal ability and a friskiness. Near the end of the track, she wraps up the single beautifully – “the smell of perfume/staining the room/the scent of cigars/blending with glass/I lean at the bar/let’s roll out the jazz.” Sasha’s Bloc knows they are transporting us to better – at least more fun – times, providing us a visual to the night club atmosphere eighty or so years back.

Of course, like most jazz numbers, the scat section comes in midway and does so with effect. It comes during another round of instrumental solos, each adding to the overall depth of the track rather that coming off as a “look at me killing this solo” vibe. It is expertly placed between the two verses.

Ultimately, “Feels Like Jazz” plays like an homage to the Duke Ellington days. Nothing wrong with that, mind you, as it is smooth listening released in a rather not-so-glamorous period in human history. How it will translate to a pop culture-centric, hip hop heavy generation can only be seen but for now “Feels Like Jazz” by Sasha’s Bloc earns it place on your IPod by being what it intends to be: simple jazz fun.