LALAH HATHAWAY – HONESTLY
That's an 8-bit version of Lalah Hathaway on the cover, and
there's a bit of that vibe in the music – these spare electronic bits and bobs,
which sound surprisingly great next to the fullness of her vocals! The approach
is really unique, and yet another wonderful chapter in Lalah's career – a
strong legacy of soul music that keeps on moving forward, and has showed folks
for many years that she's way more than just a singer in the shadow of her
father! Instead, Hathaway is completely contemporary here – not hanging onto
any old school modes, and instead finding a way to make her music resonate with
some of her younger soul contemporaries – but never in a way thats feels
copycat at all. A massive feather in Lalah's cap – with titles that include
"Honestly", "Change Ya Life", "Storm", "Y O
Y", "I Can't Wait", "Call On Me", "What U
Need", and "Don't Give Up". ~ Dusty Groove
VINCENT HERRING – HARD TIMES
Vincent Herring really pulls it all out on this one – as the
set's not just a showcase for his always-sparkling work on alto sax, but also
features Herring blowing a bit of soprano sax – and working with some
surprising guest stars too! The core group features Cyrus Chestnut on piano and
Fender Rhodes, Yasushi Nakamura on bass, and Carl Allen on drums – but there's
lots of nice additions to the lineup throughout, in a shifting array of guests
that includes vocals from Nicolas Bearde on a few tracks – as well as trombone
from Steve Turre, guitar from Russell Malone, trumpet from Brad Mason, and
tenor from Sam Dillon. Each of the guests brings a different flavor to the
record, and creates more of a sense of variety than usual for a Herring album –
and titles include "Use Me", "Hard Work", "Eastern Joy
Dance", "The Sun Will Rise Again", "Piccadilly
Square", "Amsterdam After Dark", "Hard Times", and
"Good Morning Heartache". ~ Dusty Groove
JONAH LEVINE COLLECTIVE – ATTENTION DEFICIT
Jonah Levine is a trombonist, but he's also turning out to
be a heck of a great composer, too – as you'll hear in this album that's filled
with fresh, original material! The tunes all have a strong sense of color –
directed by Levine's trombone, which solos often – in a lineup that includes
Emile Martinez on trumpet, Josh Johnson on alto, Owen Clapp on bass, Kiefer
Shackelford on piano, and Jonathan Pinson on drums. The album also features a
few very soulful moments – the crackling, bass-heavy vibe of "French Song
Reprise", which has vocals from Iman Omari; the spacey vibe of
"Zootcase", which features Mndsgn; and the heavenly vocals of Aditya
Prakash on "Rakia Nightmares". Other titles include "Qu'Est Ce
Que C'Est", "False Alarm", "Time Will Tell",
"Blue Whale Syndrome", and "Microverse Battery". (Includes
download!) ~ Dusty Groove
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