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
SF JAZZ COLLECTIVE
Live 2006
BELA FLECK AND CHICK COREA
The Enchantment
ELISABETH KONTOMANOU
Back to My Groove
Bill Charlap Trio
Somewhere: The Music of Leonard Bernstein
ALON NECHUSHTAN
Words Beyond
Robert Johnson Trio
Music Is Business
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