Michelle Lordi - Break Up With the Sound

September 28, 2020

Label: Cabinet of Wonder, 2019

Personnel - Michelle Lordi: vocals; Donny McCaslin: tenor sax; Tim Motzer: guitar, electronics; Matthew Parrish: acoustic bass; Rudy Royston: drums.

Imbued with jazz and country-rock ambiances, Break Up With the Sound, the fourth feature-length album by singer/composer Michelle Lordi, steps up her previous recordings by expanding stylistic horizons and employing a much more exciting band. Just to get this straight, revered tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin and guitarist Tim Motzer show off their improvisational artistry, while the rhythmic foundation is provided by bassist Matthew Parrish, who also produced and arranged, and the super-reliable drummer Rudy Royston.

The group gets the show on the road with “Poor Bird”, the most engaging of Lordi originals, which was written as a response to Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” (also included in the program). Swift bass influxes are gently escorted by the subtle effect-drenched guitar washes that run in the background, leading to a groove in a gripping additive 6+5 tempo. Lordi’s voice echoes personality and McCaslin drops down exciting solos in between the sung choruses. He grooves with abandon, assembling phrases with notes that slick and jump easily and logically. His mighty improvisational powers, tinctured with an advanced side slipping technique, are also on display on “Double-Crossed”, a Lordi/Motzer-penned pop song with a memorable, singable chorus; on the balladic standard “Lover Man”, here accelerated in pace and propelled by a dogged groove; and on “Red House Blues”, which, not being as strong as the aforementioned pieces, is laid down with harmonic restraint and floating guitar soundscapes.

One of the strongest aspects in Lordi’s vocalization lies in her ability to eschew unnecessary stretches and frivolous fireworks. The narratives are straightforward and brought with the required amount of rawness. Her self-penned “Before”, a beautiful folk rock excursion, is a good example of what I've just said. This tune is elevated by Motzer, effective in delivering emotional cries after opening with an able fingerpicking on the acoustic guitar. Again, his bluesy guitar chops can be traced, right there in the middle of the sweet country-pop melancholy of “Wayward Wind”.

If the two ballads about loneliness - The Rolling Stones’ “No Expectations” and the above-mentioned “I’m So Lonesome” - don’t really triumph, then Cole Porter’s waltzing theme for the 1956 romantic musical comedy High Society - “True Love” - satisfies by flowing breezily.

Revealing competence and boldness as a composer, Lordi should predominantly focus on original material from now on.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Poor Bird ► 03 - Double-Crossed ► 07 - Lover Man

Sojoy + Stu Dias - Ambistellar

July 8, 2020

Label: Self released, 2020

Personnel - Sojoy: vocals; Stu Dias: vocals, composition; Eric Klaxton: tenor sax, clarinet; Matt Langley: soprano, tenor and baritone saxes, bass clarinet; Nick Mainella: tenor sax, clarinet; Zach Lange: trumpet; Josh Gagnon: trombone; Scott Kiefner: bass; Jonny Peiffer: drums, composition.

Ambistellar, the new outing from Jonny Pfeiffer’s Sojoy with the participation of singer/songwriter Stu Dias, narrates stories inspired by mythologies and constellations that also connect to ancient civilizations. Pfeiffer - the drummer, arranger and main composer for the chord-less septet based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire - co-wrote the 14 tracks on the album with Dias, relying on a pliable five-horn frontline to give them a varied range of expression. Together, they cram a melange of styles into a coherent whole, with the players toggling effortlessly between the composed and the improvised worlds.

“It’s Lonely Up Here” takes the shape of a vocals-over-bass pop song before blossoming into a fully jazzified orchestral section that leads to the end. The lyrics are about the giant huntsman Orion and his post-mortem solitude after Zeus has placed him among the stars as a constellation.

With Dias alternating vocal dynamics according to the intensity of its distinct 4/4 and 3/4 passages, “Nothing is Broken” balances rock, jazz, and R&B into a wave of energy, but doesn’t back off from a sort of cabaret impression that feels at once artsy and dramatic. “He Loved There Honey” is another example, yet blurred by the inebriated, lullaby-ish singing.

Despite of its title, “Calm” is not a ballad but rather an elated, funkified cyclic motion underpinned by a groovy bass ostinato. Somehow recalling Tom Waits in the wry manner that it's stated, the piece loses grace when watery effects (connected to the theme of a flying fish) mold the vocals.

Having a sturdy bass and incisive drums working hard at the bottom layer, “Wing and Fin” brings a relaxed and carefree sense of adventure, allowing the central spot to be filled with trumpet and clarinet. Their statements trigger responses from the remaining horns.

Embracing melodic counterpoint, a lounging swinging pulse and classic film-noir temper, “Big Bad” features multiple, simultaneous soloists. In fact, the horns remain alert throughout, responding to the spoken word with adequate expressive dimension while unisons mark the final section.

Part epic, part plaintive, “Bird Of Paradise” boasts chirping-like ostinatos as figurative ornaments for a 6/4 sonic flow that, for moments, brings Sun Ra’s space voyages into mind. The group offers a totally different atmosphere with “My Kin Decide”, whose instrumental similarities with Santana’s “Smooth” are noticeable. The understated Latin feel here turns into festive on the playful “I’m Dreaming, She Murmured”.

Pfeiffer sets the pace for the band on the sinuous “The Snake Charmer”, and his effective drum play, with resounding kick drum and rattling snare, is stressed during the whole enchantment. The uplifting closing track of the album “Draw Tight Your Bowstrings” displays a radiant tenor solo.

Jazz influences are front and center on Ambistellar, an aptly arranged collection of tunes with some infatuating melodic and rhythmic contents.

Favorite Tracks:
04 - Big Bad ► 05 - Bird of Paradise ► 10 - Nothing is Broken

Tania Grubbs Quintet - Live at Maureen's Jazz Cellar

June 2, 2020

Label: Self released, 2020

Personnel - Tania Grubbs: vocals; David Budway: piano; Ron Affif: guitar; Jeff Grubbs: bass; James Johnson III: drums.

Pittsburgh-based vocalist Tania Grubbs fronts a jazz quintet featuring her husband, the bassist Jeff Grubbs, along with David Budway on piano, Ron Afiff on guitar, and James Johnson III on drums. The 12 tracks on this CD were recorded live at Maureen’s Jazz Cellar in Nyack, New York, and despite of the stylistically diverse repertoire, it’s clearly the jazz tradition and classic form that prevail in their interpretations.

Possessing a seductive vocal tone, which she uses with abandon, Tania remains restrained on Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing”, the song that launches the session. The timid projection of her voice here contrasts with the blues that closes out the album, “Don’t Take Your Love From Me”.

If the ballads didn’t make a positive impression - Horace Silver’s “Peace” is imbued with cliched guitar details; Joni Mitchell’s “Love” carries no major twists; and Stephen Sondheim’s “I Remember” is a tepid vocal-piano duet with occasional bowed bass - then the folk-pop of Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire” together with the groovy country-jazz of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” provide an enjoyable listening experience. The group also nails the melancholic spirit of “The Peacocks”, the Jimmy Rowles-penned tune immortalized by Bill Evans, which is an emotional ride per se.

The energy of Charlie Parker’s bop classic “Ornithology” is there but with little amounts of inventiveness despite the apropos phrasing of the singer, who included one sole original in the program. “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” was inspired on Emily Dickinson’s poem of the same name, relying on a propulsive bossa groove and a sharp solo by Jeff to boost it.

Although the musical ideas fit the style, they often lack that sense of adventure I would like to have around. Sometimes the songs get trapped in repetitive vamps and gushing rhythmic patterns that fail to surprise. Nevertheless, even with some songs working far better than others, Tania should be able to carve a niche in the vocal pop and jazz continuums.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Bird on a Wire ► 07 - The Peacocks ► 09 - Harvest Moon