In New Orleans, pianist and vocalist Jenna McSwain crafted her debut album, Wax & Wane: Songs Without Seasons. With her writing, Jenna pays tribute to her southern roots with songs like “The Okra Strut,” named after the festival in Irmo, South Carolina, and “I’ve Got Peace Like a River,” a spiritual song she grew up singing. With her original lyrics, she uses the seasons as symbols of loss and gain, suffering and rejuvenation. Her compositions deal with the inevitable changes that occur with the passing of time, the personal growth that accompanies those changes, and the realization that amidst all these transient things, love is perennial. The album is produced by Jenna, along with Scott Myers (leader of Chegadão, Os Batutas and Organica, and student of guitarist/producers Steve Masakowski and Brian Seeger) and features some of New Orleans’ great young musicians: Myers on guitar and percussion, Nick Solnick on drum set and percussion, Gary Washington on bass and cello, Russell Ramirez on trombone, Bryce Eastwood on tenor saxophone, and Steve Lands on trumpet. The album is eclectic, organic, and undoubtedly jazz, moving smoothly from sambas to hard-driving swing tunes with heartfelt ballads interspersed. Sometimes playful, sometimes visceral, her spirited style has the power to put a groove in your step and a tug at your heart strings.