JAZZTIMES / Brian Soergel         

    It's been six years since we're heard from Nashville-based guitarist Denny Jiosa, a former staple of smooth jazz radio with hits such as "Lights of The City." His fresh new CD is the project he says he's always wanted to release. Although fans will instantly be familiar with Jiosa's fluid and smooth guitar style and knacks for hooks, he's also dived into Latin and a touch of straight-ahead with "The Glass Half Full," "Tranquillo" and a tribute to hero Wes Montgomery called "East of Montgomery." There's even cinematic soundscape with the title track, its 7/4 time held down by drummer Chester Thompson.
The CD also offers a version of one of the most popular songs of all time: Bobby Hebb's "Sunny" from 1966. The twist here is that Jiosa corralled Hebb into singing on the song, although Hebb rightly realized that everyone's heard the familiar vocals so much he decided to scat along instead. Good move. With all that's going on with the CD, the best songs are still Jiosa's  versions of the killer strikeout pitch, the haunting, emotional tracks like "Midnight at the Wall" and "Wounded Warriors."

    Dreams Like This is a beefy, compelling contemporary jazz CD that rises above most in the genre.



20th Century Guitar / Robert Silverstein

 SONIC CANVAS RECORDS - A renowned musician in the world of mainstream and smooth jazz, guitarist Denny Jiosa can always be counted on to come up with a winning strategy. On his 2008 CD, Dreams Like This, Jiosa teams with a bunch of top players and the results make for a solid set of breezy guitar instrumentals. The follow up to his 2002 CD, Body2Body, 2008’s Dreams Like This features a fresh round of Jiosa originals with a definite highlight being a cover of the Bobby Hebb 1966 song classic, “Sunny” which features Hebb on cameo vocals. Commenting on working with an icon of ‘60s pop, Jiosa adds, ‘Bobby Hebb, the original artist and composer of “Sunny” came to my studio to listen to my version of his song. He gave me an overwhelming approval and even agreed to sing on the track!’ On Dreams Like This, Jiosa keeps his sunny side up on an album of albums that should have across the board appeal among guitar enthusiasts. 


Mr. Bobby Hebb ( artist and composer of "Sunny")

   "The best version of "Sunny" out ! The only one I like better is mine!"

 Vintage Guitar Magazine / John Heidt 

     Denny Jiosa is a player of immense chops and fire, and while jazz dominates this album, Jiosa is also at home with R&B and pop,and cuts like "Forward Motion" give him a chance to show off his inventive soloing and strong use of melody.
    Almost every cut here sticks. Jiosa is a master of the light funk that dominates smooth jazz, but on "I Am Roxane," his fiery playing overrides any mixed emotions about the genre. His soloing mixes single lines with octaves, and there's even fuzzed-out rock. Effortlessly, both from a compositional and playing standpoint, he then glides right back into octaves to wrap it up. He shows off a lovely ballad touch on several tunes, including "Wounded Warriors," with it's great melody and fine playing. Same goes for his chordal work on the lovely "The Glass Half Full." The CD has a bonus cut that pays homage to Wes Montgomery, from whom Jiosa takes a lot of cues; "East of Montgomery" is an old-school jazz piece and the connection is obvious. Like the latter-day Wes, he plays with fire, grace, and blazing technique.-- John Heidt

KSJS Radio / Brad Stone 

"There is certainly more substance than others. An example of what smooth jazz could be."

KSJS radio /  BRAD STONE SAN JOSE , CA

Radio & Records / Carol Archer

"It's good to see guitarist Denny Jiosa's return with an infectious, melodic single, "Chill Pill" (Sonic Canvas), on which his deft style and always-sparkling production shine ..." 

Music Row Publication /  Robert Oermann  Tuneful, tasteful Denny Jiosa wins our Disc of the Day! ........When Denny Jiosa was a youngster, “Sunny” was one of the first songs he learned to play. The jazz guitarist’s mellow, dreamy take on this classic is just one of the many highlights of his Dreams Like This collection. . .....The rest of the instrumental Dreams are Denny’s totally cool originals.  Buy this!"

Jazz-Iz Magazine - "If Eric Clapton played smooth jazz, he'd sound like Denny Jiosa. Jiosa simmers rather than overpowers. Denny proves he has both smooth and real jazz chops."

JazzTimes Magazine - "...Jiosa's lithe melody touches both twinkling harmonies and darker chords, as if illustrating the complexity of humanity"

Gallup Entertainment - "Denny gives us a laid back, refined, classy, smooth album of solo electric guitar with intelligent melodies and subtly lush supporting arrangements."

Wind and Wire - "Let the relaxed yet fiery licks from Denny's guitar paint a musical portrait of a city that pulses with vibrancy and life of it's own. It's a cold world, baby-but the music is HOT!"

Music Boulevard - "Denny Jiosa is one of the top contemporary jazz guitarist on the scene today... This new CD is a great blend of contemporary jazz and traditional jazz, with improvising reminiscent of Wes Montgomery."

Steppin' Out Magazine - "Take the classic cool jazz of the late Wes Montgomery,stretch it with the contemporary sounds of jazz masters like Pat Metheny and Larry Carlton, add a dollop of B.B. King blues and Eric Clapton blues rock, and temper it with Latin-tinged, soaring, fluid solos like Carlos Santana. Shake it and bake it, and you have Jazzberry Pie, ...from Denny Jiosa, one of the smoothest, most soulful contemporary jazz guitarist currently performing."

The Tennessean - "Jiosa has an incredible technical facility, but he never lets it overshadow the melodic content of his pieces"

Midwest Record Recap - "NAC/smooth jazz pro just keeps getting hotter with each outing. A solid set that adult urban ears will soak up with more deliberate speed than the last charmer... coaxing his guitar into places that can only rocket him to the top."