2014-04-07
Ou was formed in Italy in 2012. The band's debut, PIsces Crises, is a busy disc with a whole lot going on. Seattle producer, Amy Denio, must have had her hands full with this one. There is ukelele, organ, a horn section, piano, bass, drums, kalimba, vibraphone, and glockenspiel all backing many voices. The whole band sings (as well as the producer!). It all comes together to form a vocal jazz sextet; but this isn't your parents' vocal jazz. What Ou makes is entirely different. There are unusual time signatures, punchy or whispery vocalizations, and odd instrumentation. Contemporary vocal jazz is one of my least favorite genres. Ou brings me into the fold.
Rebecca Ruth
THE CHEEBACABRA
Exile in the Woods
ERIN BODE
The Little Garden
THE JODI PROZNICK QUARTER
Foundations
JOE HENRY
Civilians
Laurence Hobgood Trio
Honor Thy Fathers
DAVE SIEBELS
With Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
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