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
KEN CLARK ORGAN TRIO
Mutual Respect
DIRTY BOURBON RIVER SHOW
Volume Four
Laurence Hobgood Trio
Honor Thy Fathers
DIANNE REEVES
When You Know
VARIOUS
Rumble In the Great Lakes (Best of the Detroit Jazz Fest 2007)
James Taylor Quartet (JTQ)
The Oscillator
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