Back in the 1970s, there was a jazz label CTI that specialized in soulful swinging jazz tones. This ep led by drummer Ash Luo reminds me of those halcyon days, when good sounds and ideas could appeal to the brain and heart together. She brings together a mix and match team of Victor Jimenez Gomez/ts, Will Mallard/tp, Song Ah Chae/p-key, Robert Lee/b, Juan Pablo Tello/perc, Kris Sebastian Ramakrishna/mircrog, Chaitanya Natu, Sam Rowley/tb in various successful quartet to septet configurations.
Luo combines the titles in both English and Chinese, with many of the songs having sounds of the earth as introductions, such as the water ripples of “Nothing But Meeting and Parting聚散而已”having water ripples teaming with keyboards into a soulful Joe Sample lilt of keyboards and drums with easy swinging tenor and trumpet. A breezy wind and electric bass is caressed by Luo’s brushes as they undulate under Chae’s piano, slowly increasing the Butanes for Mallard on “The Drifting Soul游离的人”.
On the more Spartan ensembles, Rowley gasps and sighs over the snappy drums and warm keys of the earthy “Elapse流逝” while the rhythm team gives a hip-hoppish clippety-clop snap under Mallard’s splattering brass a la Lee Morgan on the fervent “Undercurrent暗涌” . This short but sweet handful of tunes make you want to hear more, which is the true sign of an artist. She’s got her own sound, and you feel like you’d like a second serving of the flavors. Any post COVID tours?