Wednesday, December 10, 2014

NEW RELEASES: TERI TOBIN – TRUTHS; THEO HILL – LIVE AT SMALLS; LARS BARTKUHN - PASSION DANCE ORCHESTRA

TERI TOBIN – TRUTHS

A breath of fresh air from Teri Tobin – her best yet! Teri must be the the most straight up soulful voices to come out of Arizona scene in years and years – and she's honestly one of our favorite indie soul singers of the post-millenium teens, period – truthfully sounding better than ever on Truth Is. There's a confident, mature vibe on the vocals and songwriting tip here that really carries it over in a big way – she completely owns the material. It's a testament to how strong Teri's voice is that there's such a wholly consistent vibe, even with a different producer credit for nearly every track – as it's all in her timelessly soulful comfort zone. Includes "Wonderfully Made", "Always Be You", "Love Happens", "Free Ya Mind", "Pool Of Love", "I Can't Help Want You", "Done", "Someone Else Will", "Make Beautiful", "#Shine", "I Am", "Where Would I Be" and more. 2 bonus tracks on the CD version not on the download release – "I Am Love" and "Where Would I Be?".  ~ Dusty Groove

THEO HILL – LIVE AT SMALLS

We're not sure we've ever heard other albums with pianist Theo Hill as a leader – but after this sweet little set, we'll definitely be on the lookout! Hill has a really great vision here – not just another live date for his piano and combo, but a wonderful showcase for his new ideas in music – which are deeply personal, and really have a way of transforming older material in the process, then really taking fire on his original songs! Hill lets things build slowly, almost with an organic sort of space flowing from his piano – as the talents of other group members flower strongly in the environment – including tenor from Dayna Stephens, alto from Myron Waldon, bass from Joe Sanders, and drums from Rodney Green – all great players already, but really sounding special here in Hill's company. Tracks are longish, but more constructed than some of the usual Smalls Live material – and titles include "Naima's Lullaby", "Teeth", "Ellipse", "Four By Five", "Mantra", and "Promise Of The Sun".  ~ Dusty Groove


LARS BARTKUHN - PASSION DANCE ORCHESTRA

A beautiful batch of distinctively genre-straddling grooves from German guitarist Lars Bartkuhn and his Passion Dance Orchestra – wonderful stuff that brings together jazz and folk, acoustic and electronics, in a warmly cohesive way! Bartkuhn is on guitars, voice and electronics, leading a group that works just as strongly intimately-arranged, or fairly sweeping arrangements, depending on the mood at hand – with keys, flutes, oboe, and strings and wind. The way he balances bigger sounding and more intimate moments is pretty great! Very strong work from a player we've admired from the get-go, and seems to getting better and better! Includes "Folksong", "The Oracle", "All Goes Onward", "Through Hills And Valleys", "Mind And Time", "Quasar", "Alegria (Children's Dance)", "Long Life", "Zenrock", "When We Arive" and "The World Is Everything". ~ Dusty Groove


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