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
Matt Kane & The Kansas City Generations Sextet
Acknowledgement
Bill Charlap Trio
Somewhere: The Music of Leonard Bernstein
Lou Caputo Not So Big Band
Uh Oh!
ELIANE ELIAS
LIGHT MY FIRE
JAVON JACKSON
– Once Upon a Melody
Charlie Watts and the Tentet
Watts at Scott's
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