Side A:
1. Zito’s Jump
2. Bird in the Wind
3. Ready ‘N Able
4. Island Girl
5. Minor Lies

Side B
6. Pense Nisso
7. The Nearness of You
8. The End of a Love Affair
9. After You’ve Gone
10. It Could Happen To You

ABOUT:
With story, blues, and swing at the forefront, rising jazz guitarist James Zito leaps onto the scene and into the rich, soulful, and ever-swinging legacy of jazz guitar with his debut record, Zito’s Jump. Recorded at the legendary Rudy Van Gelder studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the album plays like a story told over dinner. Wielding a Benedetto Bambino Deluxe and a Les Paul Custom as his brushes, James Zito masterfully crafts a sonic mural that walks us through the last ten years of his life.

Zito’s Jump features five standards: “Ready and Able,” “The Nearness of You,” “End of a Love Affair,” “After You’ve Gone,” “It Could Happen to You,” and six original compositions: “Zito’s Jump,” “Bird in the Wind,” “Island Girl,” “Time Zone,” “Pense Nisso,” and “Minor Lies,” debuting his compositional prowess.

We walk out of the gates swinging with the electrifying boogaloo Zito’s Jump. Zito recalls listening to “Got My Mojo Working” by the famed blues guitarist Muddy Waters and being inspired to “create my own version of a song that made me feel like my best self.”

CREDITS
releases April 18, 2025

Personnell:
James Zito - Guitar / Executive Producer
Rodney Whitaker - Bass
Joe Farnsworth - Drums
Luther Allison - Piano
Chris Lewis - Tenor Sax / Flute

Nicholas Dimaria - Trumpet
Joseph Miller - Alto Sax
Jack Kotze - Trombone
Jarien Jamanila - Baritone Saxophone
Matt Heilmann - Co-Producer
Nicole Maria Odreman Valenciano - Co-Producer
Maureen Sickler - Recording Engineer
Don Sickler - Recording Assistant
Sam McCarthy - Editor
Dave Darlington - Mixing / Mastering
John Sturino - Cover Photo
Jamie Breiwick / B side Graphics - Cover Design