BJU Records is a small outfit that puts out some excellent material. These two latest releases show their ability to have ears for the adventurous as well as the tried and true.
Pianist Jeremy Siskind has put together an intriguingly intimate album with vocalist Nancy Harms and reed playier Lucas Pino. Except for a couple of gentle peppy tunes like “The Inevitable Letdown,” the mood between these three souls is subdued, reflective and pensive. Harms’ voice makes Melody Gardot seem manic; her delicate delivery is startlingly vulnerablie, and when combined with Siskind’s long Chopinesque intros, as on “One Art,” the effect is languid loneliness. Pino’s tenor is classic Zoot Sims smoky, while his clarinet is rich and woody. A simple structure is varied in delivery, as Harms opens up “A Single Moment” with a haunting a cappella aria, and Siskind goes into a solo rumination on “More Mist Than Moon.” A definite choice for your blue periods.
Guitarist Isaac Darche goes more with the well travelled road, hitting the B3 trail with Sean Wayland and drummer Mark Ferber through a collection of originals and one cover. Wayland gets a lot of fingerwork going on material like the tricky “Broke-Coke-Ho” while the leader picks and grins on a lively take of “East Gardens” and “Green Team.” As with most Hammond trios, they sound best on ballads, and their take on the Rogers and Hart piece “You Are Too Beautiful” flows like silk drapes. Nice blue plate special.
BJU Records