Women in various musical attire…
Arranger, pianist and composer Bevan Manson brings together a collection of his hometown LA’s finest for this richly orchestrated album featuring mostly the vocals of the cool breeze from Tierney Sutton. There’s an ethereal take of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” with Sutton guided by Bob Sheppard’s flute, with a medley of “Banyon Tree/Take The A Train” having Sutton partnered wit some scat vocals from Marina Packowski and added harmonies from Katherine Liner. An elegaic “Willow Weep For Me” includes rich reeds from Nancy Mathison and Geoff Nudell serving as woody frames for Sutton with some Broadway presentations from Sutton and Liner working around the pizzicato’d strings on “Redwood. The closing “Spring Epilogue” is almost reverential as Sutton and the velvety reeds create a musical balm. Palpable textures of sound.
Backed by the Taipei Jazz Orchestra, conducte4d by Gene Aitken and directed by Chen-Y, Alexis Cole sings with a strong Broadway style through a collection of standards with confidence. She swings with easy on a breezy “Bye Bye Blackbird” and is bold on the poppish take of “Uptown Girl”. An uncommonly slow and undulating read of “Begin The Beguine” has Cole in clear tone, while she glows on “People Will Say We’re In Love”. Downtown tunes.
Playing a variety of saxes, composer Asha Parkinson leads a large ensemble through a collection of originals that feature the voice of Rebecka Edlund. The pieces focus on dreamy moods, with a hint of soloing as on the ethereal “Distant Devotion”, the soundtrack-ish folk tune of “There” and the elliptical pop toned title track. The orchestrations, as on “Urban Fantasy” can get a bit intricate and sophisticated, with the leader producing short and concise solos as part of the overall tapestry. Themes for a future film.
www.alexiscole.com
www.ashaparkinsonmusic.co.uk