Braxton Cook

The saxophone is an instrument that feels particularly suited to romance, and Braxton Cook, a New York-based artist, puts the horn to good use. In a marriage of smoky night-club jazz and sentimental R. & B., his honeyed vocals convey the emotional textures of love, and his compositions are replete with spaces for the sax (and the guitar and piano) to come alive. On his album “No Doubt,” from last year, visceral feelings and a virtuosic attention to craft find a sweet and harmonious middle ground. (Baby’s All Right; Jan. 25.)