She Walks In Beauty by Dimitri K. is "a composer's attempt to catch the essence of beauty through the skills of musicians often from other countries, cultures and continents" (quoting promotional materials). Dimitri K., who was born in Bulgaria, composed and arranged the music and plays a variety of instruments on several of the fourteen tracks. Musicians from countries such as Malaysia, the UK, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Hungary, Argentina and the US perform on the album, proving once again that music is the universal language. Categorizing She Walks In Beauty into a single genre is impossible (always a very good thing, I think!). This could easily be called world music, but there are also smooth jazz, new age, prog rock and even some pop elements - a true melting pot that creates a rich and wonderful musical stew!

Dimitri K. (born Dimitar Kovachev) has a recording studio in Orlando, Florida and is a composer, producer and publisher. His music has been recorded by many singers and instrumentalists, and has also been utilized in musicals, television and films. Dimitri has also released several albums and singles under his own name and hosts Lite Lounge with Dimitri K.

She Walks In Beauty begins with "Did You Get It," which features Van Galen (electric guitar), Alvin L. Giles (piano and bass), and Ferenc Nemeth (drums) in a slow and sultry smooth jazz piece. The title track is built around a poem by Lord Byron and features vocals by Lyia Meta along with Giles on piano and bass, and John Valeri on guitar. Vocals aren't continuous throughout the song, so the instrumentalists have plenty of room to interpret the poem without words. "Let's Pull This Off" has an infectious smooth jazz groove and features Alex Hahn on sax, Giles on piano and bass, Valeri on guitar, and Francisco Pancho Molina on drums. "House of Harmony" showcases some gorgeous sax by Rusty Crutcher along with Christian Fabian on bass, Jamie Strefeler on oboe and Valeri on guitar. I love the slow easy-going swing of this one! "Unassuming" goes in a different direction with a mysterious minor-key Gypsy feel. Violin (Konstantin Dimitrov), bass (Fabian), guitar (Valeri) and Dimitri on organ and percussion tell an exotic, sensual musical story! There are two versions of "In the Moment" - one is a shorter radio edit - and both feature guitar (Galen), sax (Paul Messina) and bass (Fabian) as well as Dimitri on keyboards. Giles treats us to some tasty blues piano early in "Spot On," a fascinating piece that evolves seamlessly through a variety of themes and instrumental solos - one of several favorites on the album! "Someone Is Coming" has a slow, soulful groove that really lets Van Galen and his electric guitar shine. Giles supplies a rich backdrop of piano and bass, while synths and keyboards add other instrumentation. I love "Dark Note"! This time it's Gabe Carson on sax and Valeri on guitar with Dimitri adding chamber choir and synths - mysterious and very haunting! The first part of "Touch of Chopin" is classically orchestrated behind a simple piano melody, but picks up the rhythm to a smooth jazz vibe as it progresses and brings this excellent album to a soul-satisfying close.

I have really enjoyed getting acquainted with Dimitri K.'s music and look forward to more of it in the near-future! She Walks in Beauty is available from Amazon and Apple Music/ iTunes, and streaming sites including Spotify. Highly recommended!