" data-original-title="" title="">Dayna Stephens is happy to be here. It's not just in the obvious "Hello Clevelaaaand!" sense you'd get from any visiting performer saying hello to a crowd (not that that's a bad thing), but a heartfelt conviction. After a battle with a rare kidney disease and a life-saving donation from his aunt, the New Jersey saxophonist is acutely aware of how great it is to still be present and able to make beautiful music. His picturesque eighth album is meant to "[serve] as an expression of that deep-seated gratitude," and Gratitude indeed shares the love in a way both hearty and humble.

Stephens mostly borrows others' material here and filters it all through his own influences—timeless balladry, classic swing and simple heartland folk. One key factor was to choose songs that had stuck with him and melodies that lodged in his head, and his clear affection for the pieces helps them amiably do the same for the listener too. Sweetly appealing melodies and lush solos spill from his horn as easily as a pleasant summer breeze. Mostly he sticks with a soft-flowing tenor, briefly switching to electric wind instrument (EWI) to give an appropriate synth-like sound to a