A songwriter's ear, a jazz musician's hands.

Alec Funiciello writes songs that live in the space between a late-night standard and a pop chorus you can't shake. Raised on records where the singing mattered most, then trained in jazz harmony, he brings a player's sense of dynamics to material that never asks the audience to work for it.

On stage that means a set that breathes: a hushed opener over brushed drums, a chorus that opens wide, a turn of phrase held a half-beat longer than expected. He performs solo, as a duo with upright bass or keys, and with a full band when the room calls for it — the arrangement bends to the space rather than the other way around.

His latest single, "Hold My Hand," was cut live to tape in a single room, close-mic'd and unhurried. It's the clearest picture yet of what he does: warmth without sentiment, craft without showing the work.