Daniel Walzer bathed jazz in sun-warmed ambience on ‘Sounds of Summer’ –

Daniel Walzer invited the natural world into the studio for Sounds of Summer, a piece drawn from his labour-of-love LP Hoosier Songs, recorded across the slow arc of 2022 to 2025. In collaboration with nature itself, Walzer shaped a release that feels like a breath of temperate air, capturing the sublimity of summer through a hypnotic synthesis of environmental melodies and jazz’s famously wayward time signatures.

There’s an amorous warmth to the instrumental score, shaped by echoes of Latin grooves you could happily tango to, then softened into a gentle simmer of summer-tinged scintillation. The synaesthesia-inducing flow drifts forward with playful lightness, sitting in sheer juxtaposition to the savant-esque musicianship that allows the track to blossom so effortlessly. Piano, percussion and textured ambience move together with a sense of patience, as though the music itself has learned how to listen before speaking.

Whether experienced on a veranda, absorbed through meditation, or shared with someone close enough to lean into the tenderness, Sounds of Summer leaves its imprint quietly but decisively. This is jazz that breathes, that notices the small details, that allows space for warmth to settle rather than rushing toward resolution.

Beyond the single, Walzer’s wider practice reflects a deep attentiveness to place and process. Based in Indiana, he has spent years gathering field recordings from across the state, weaving them into instrumental compositions that feel rooted, reflective and texturally alive. Working alongside trusted collaborators and co-producer Matthew Parmenter, with final mastering handled by Streaky in Oxford, Walzer’s approach places care and curiosity at the centre of every note.

Sounds of Summer is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Bandcamp. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast