Pianist Jeremy Siskind puts together an intriguing album here, mixing various vocalists with a chamber-like duet with Lucas Pino. Nancy Harms the featured vocalist and she has a flickering candle of a voice. Other times, Kendra Shank, Peter Eldridge and Kurt Elling bring their voices to add mood and textures. There’s a softness in the atmosphere here, as Pino’s bass clarinet oozes on “Whispering Grass” and gets cozy on tenor with Elling on the delicate “Light.” Harms and Pino’s tenor get reflective on an enticing “I Could Have Danced All Night,” while Kendra Shank does a cameo on a bohemian “Ghost Story.” Peter Eldridge’s deep lyricism is a perfect meld with Harms on “Housewarming” and “New Old West Theme.” There album comes across as a wholistic unit rather than a collection of single tunes, creating connecting threads like a Raphael tapestry. Fascinating.
BJU Records
www.jeremysiskind.com