Carol Albert - Pieces of Me (2025) [Hi-Res]

Pieces of Me is her fourth full length smooth jazz album since becoming one of the genre's most popular core artists in 2017 and her 11th full length album. In a genre where song and album titles are often charming afterthought phrases not meaningfully connected to the music, one of Carol Albert's most remarkable trademarks has been writing and recording songs and albums whose names chronicle, express and reflect on different chapters in her life and the world around her.

Inspired in part by an introspective poem the pianist/composer wrote while walking in the woods near her home in North Georgia, the ultra-melodic, stylistically and rhythmically eclectic album is thematically bookended by different versions of the title track. It's an infectious, emotionally relatable collection sharing a journey that captures an artful balance of the great, high spirited joyful moments of life and slightly darker moods representing those challenging pieces of life where we face sorrow and struggle.