Aprés Fauré
shaun@blittzedmarketing.com October 1, 2024
O's Notes: Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau releases another solo effort, this one dedicated to the works of Gabriel Fauré on Aprés Fauré. Mehldau calls attention to the contrast in mood between Fauré’s jovial early works, “Nocturne No. 4” (1884) and his later, darker work “Nocturne No. 13” (1921), a pattern not uncommon with some of the great classical composers. Brad sandwiches four of his own compositions, crafted to complement the legend, between five Fauré pieces. The closer is an “Extract from Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor”, a rather soothing selection.
Then And Now
shaun@blittzedmarketing.com October 1, 2024
O's Notes: Zy The Way is a Taiwanese sextet that plays pop-infused jazz featuring vocals from Australian-Taiwanese vocalist Caitlin Magee. She is also a popular Taiwanese, English-speaking, radio host. All the lyrics on Then And Now are in Mandarin but they were embraceable even without comprehending the lyrics. We liked ”Agild” with fine instrumentation, “Ten Acres”, and “Blue Collar”.
Longing To Meet You
shaun@blittzedmarketing.com October 1, 2024
O's Notes: Guitarist, composer Jake Hertzog plays in a quartet with Matt Woroshyl (sax), Perrin Grace (b), and Joe Peri (d) on Longing To Meet You. It’s a musical love letter to Jake’s daughter as she went through the journey of IVF (In vitro fertilization). The emotional roller coaster is depicted over nine selections with warmth and romance best captured by Woroshyl’s sax.
The Global Suites
shaun@blittzedmarketing.com October 1, 2024
O's Notes: The Ize Trio is pianist, composer Chase Morrin, percussionist George Lernis, and Naseem Alatrash on cello. They met as students at Berklee and are now colleagues as professors! They fuse their diverse backgrounds, US, Cyprus, and Palestine into their music. There are four Global Suites focused on capitalism, environmentalism, imagination, and education. They come alive on “Let Us Out”, the third part of the Break G4S Suite. We enjoyed Resurrecting the Amber Sky: “Present” & “Past and Future” featuring guest artists John Patitucci (b), Farayi Malek (voice), and Heirazza (voice). We also enjoyed “Code Switching” in the Elemeno Suite.