Perhaps
the hook of interest to the just released 20th album from keyboardist-composer-producer
Dan Siegel is that his cerebral compositions
masterfully crafted on “Indigo” with co-producer Brian Bromberg do not need
sensationalism in order to thrive. The veteran artisan has been making
sophisticated piano-driven contemporary jazz records for 35 years thus earning
his fine reputation without gimmicks or pandering to the fickle nature of the
audience’s passing fancy. Instead he sets the bar high and focuses his muse on
making thinking man’s music. The collection’s ten fully orchestrated and deftly
arranged live acoustic jazz constructs offer nimble piano and keyboard emotives
and evocative melodies amplified by lush horns that certainly live up to that
description.
Emerging
only when he has something meaningful to share, “Indigo” is Siegel’s first
outing in five years. The new set is being swiftly welcomed at contemporary
jazz radio hungry for high-quality music. It opens with the sweeping “To Be
Continued” on which Siegel receives as adept assist from the impassioned sax
play of Bob Sheppard. Mike Miller joins the fray on “By Chance” to add tasty
jazz guitar licks to Siegel’s playful piano frolic. The title cut, a bit of a
Wild West showdown, is punctuated by a gun slinging brass section and Allen
Hinds’ unharnessed guitar shots placed adjacent to Siegel’s structured piano
that seems to maintain some semblance of decorum. Contemplative by nature,
“Beyond” explores an ambient expanse. Piano and sax swirl and swoon on the
breezy “Far And Away.” Sheppard’s sax shadows Siegel’s poignant probings on “If
Ever” before climaxing in an emotionally-wrought solo. Bromberg’s upright bass
and drummer Will Kennedy (Yellowjackets) make the bluesy rhythm swing on “Spur
Of The Moment” boosted by the horn section and another inspired Miller electric
guitar improv. Gentle piano and sax radiate hope and promise amidst the
pitter-patter brushed beats on “First Light.” The uplifting “Consider This”
benefits from Siegel’s rousing and gregarious piano at the fore while “Endless”
registers a resonant closing statement that lingers long after the final notes
fade with dexterous bass and drum embellishments abound.
Siegel,
a Eugene, Oregon native, is planning a series of spring concert dates in the
Pacific Northwest after having showcased the album at a performance last month
before an enraptured Southern California audience.
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