Ashia Ackov’s sensual Latin jazz is just as smooth and as fruity as you want it. ‘Blame it on Me’ is a serene display of the style and grace of the genre, with all its serenading strings, and scintillating bossa nova charm, led by the soft presence of a charismatic diva.
Los Angeles-based Ashia Ackov is a jazz musician whose chill, downtempo forays usually result in soft, swaying, and colorful ballroom atmospheres that are just warming to the senses. Considering herself a lounge musician, Ashia Ackov is perfectly aware of her musical strengths, and she plays them well. For a genre of music that is easily dismissible as elevator music, Ackov works to highlight all the beauty that is to be found in the rich heritage of jazz, Latin jazz, or bossa nova in this case, in particular.
The swooning string arrangement sways alongside the iconic syncopated groove that defines the lush Brazilian genre, a clean electric guitar strums gently along the colorful jazz voicings of the song’s deceptively simple chord sequences, accompanied by a grandiose and stylish upright bass line, all leaving ample space that is filled by Ackov’s arresting vocal presence. Effortless, chic, and elegant.
‘Blame it on Me’ is a sweet listen that will draw into the colorful world of a rising jazz and downtempo artist. Ashia Ackov does not disappoint with this gorgeous release.