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Milena Casado - Reflection of Another Self, album review

Identity

The album title is not quite a misnomer - rather it is a plural reflection: this seems an assured jazz identity from a young trumpeter but it is informed by jazz influences from the past, some of it sampled and in the works on this album. It's a rich mix, with opener THIS IS MY HAIR (!) a playful discussion/performance about personal identity, and I hear Herb Albert in some of the early tones - yes I do - and it then gets much more punchy and the hip hop moves it to a present. Gentle solo playing is found on Introspection I - I, where elewhere on the album it becomes wonderfully wild. Lidia y los Libros is a beautiful light orchestral piece with Brandee Younger on harp and Nicole Mitchell on flute. Unconditional Love swoons in its Latin roots. A lovely album.

 

Weight of the Rapids by Willow Maddocks

A subtle and serene song with a glorious vocal:

 https://open.spotify.com/album/266yO9WVtj0K8fxxOtrmMc

 

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Not An Endorsement

Over-Searching for a Categorization

 

 

 

 

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Patrick Shiroishi & Piotr Kurek - Greyhound Days, album review

Collaborative Calm and Curiosity

Certainly a calming experience listening, and the 'curiosity' is an alliterative title trick but prompted by a genuine sense that the two players are exploring with their soundscapes as we do as listeners. The players and their instruments are

Patrick Shiroishi - tenor saxophone
Piotr Kurek - digital piano, keyboards, electric bass guitar

and their music is an ambient rolling wave, repeating. The saxophone is sonorous rather than ever loud and rasping, and this is a calming sound with the keyboard delicately layering in and out of this musical breathing. 

All is mostly deeply soothing, and on Breath, Held there is some playful sound effects to smile amonsgt this restfulness. 

I am at a peaceful ease after this first listen.

 More details and to order, go here.

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Takuya Kuroda - Everyday, album review

Funk & Melody

This is quite a throbbing/percussive set of funky, melodic tunes – various instruments working in clever collaborations: Curiosity a great example of this, and clarinet (not my favourite) holding its own in the mix. There is a general cool groove rather than busy fusion across all the tracks. Talented lead continuously showcases the horn in solo runs across the fellow layers, and here and there, vocals/random voice recordings join in. Most enjoyable.

 

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Weird Herald - Just Yesterday, album review

Actually, 50 Years Ago

Just released from found reel to reel tapes of the band's only album, the backstory is a familiar one of missing the moment through a combination of factors, most significantly the death of guitarist Billy Dean Andrus. That was 1968, and for this California psychedelic/folk group, all the wonderful sounds of that time (and area) are in the collection of songs, including demos. There is the occasional heavy journey, and echoes of Jefferson Airplane, but mostly it is the soft harmonies and winsome lyrics of west coast melody that permeates. A fine mix of psychedelia and the harmonious is in Burgandy and Yellow, its haunting intro breaking like a wave onto the song's Tim Buckley-esque vocal, another wave then breaking climatically into that JA soundscape. Loving it.

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