ROBERTA
GAMBARINI & THE HEATH BROTHERS – CONNECTING SPIRITS: ROBERTA GAMBARINI
SINGS THE JIMMY HEATH SONGBOOK
Jimmy Heath
is a hell of a saxophonist – one with a huge legacy of recordings from the
early 60s onwards – and he's also a hell of a writer, too – an aspect of his
career that's not always fully given its due! This set more than corrects that
lack – and serves up a sublime mix of original Jimmy Heath compositions sung by
vocalist Roberta Gambarini – who contributes lyrics to a few
previously-instrumental tunes, and works with some of Jimmy's own lyrics on a
few others! As you'd guess from the cover image, the set's done in close
collaboration with Heath – and features Jimmy himself on both tenor and soprano
sax, brother Albert Tootie Heath on drums, and instrumentation from the core
Heath Brothers band plus some great additional guests. The spirit of the record
is wonderful – warmly soulful, with this really fresh vibe that's so different
than so many other vocal jazz albums – partly because of the compositions, and
partly because of Roberta's very sensitive vocals. Titles include
"Growing", "Voice Of The Saxophone", "Life In The
City", "The Thumper", "Rio Dawn", "Harmonic
Future", "Sassy Samba", "Mothers' Love", "Frank
Foster", and "Ellington's Stray Horn". ~ Dusty Groove
KAZUHIRO
SUNAGA - MIRROR
A debut solo
set from Kazuhiro Sunaga – an artist you might know better as the bassist in
Japan's mighty Quasimode – but one who really stretches into new styles here on
his own! The music still has that core sense of groove we love from Quasimode,
but the performance is in a range of different instrumentation than the
straight jazz styles of that combo – a blend of keyboards lines handled by the
leader alongside his bass – including organ, Wurlitzer, mellotron, and acoustic
piano – often mixed with this spare sort of instrumentation that's nicely
playful, and which has a sound that's somewhere in the territory of post-jazz
groups from the UK, and some of the more soulful experiments on Blue Note in
the wake of Robert Glasper. A few tracks have vocals – sung by guests who
include Maya Hatch and Sugar Me, and by Sunaga himself – and titles include
"The Butterfly", "Spicy", "Coexistence",
"Spring Wind", "Suzanne", "After The Storm", and
"Help Me". (SHM-CD pressing!) ~ Dusty Groove
GERARDO
FRISINA – OLYMPIA
A special
vinyl-only release from Latin beatmeister Gerardo Frisina – a sweet little set
that almost gets back to the basics of his early work on Schema Records! The
set features five earthy groovers – all a blend of live percussion, vibes,
piano, and even a bit of tenor, trumpet, and flute – all used in spare ways
that are really focused on the rhythms, but never in a stiff sort of dancefloor
style! Instead, Frisina keeps things in the warm territory we've always loved
in his music – with lots of jazzy flourishes over the top of grooves inspired
by classic Afro-Cuban modes, but updated with a 21st Century spirit. Titles
include "Olympia", "Tin Tin Deo", "The Obsession",
"East Breeze", and "Talking Sticks". ~ Dusty Groove
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