Kathleen Hollingsworth
(vocals, keys); Brent Follis (drums); Dave Captien (bass); Will Blades (organ
5); Dominic Castillo (guitar 4); Ross Garlow (bass 4).
(Review by Ann Alex)
Kathleen
Hollingsworth, leader of this band Mad Love, is based in Portland USA, and she
has been performing and writing songs for most of her life. As a child she sang
and later went on to study piano and composition.
Now a choral
educator and adjudicator, Hollingsworth and Follis first developed their music
working as a duo in an Italian restaurant.
Ish is enjoyable
and interesting, but actually a bit odd, though in a good way. Tracks 1, 3,
4,7 were composed by Ms Hollingsworth
but there is an abrupt change of style at track 4, which is in a country vein,
whereas the previous songs have been jazz, so the album is more like 2 albums
which have been fused together.
Track 6, a sort of
lament, has music by Brent Follis, set to Hollingsworth's lyrics. Track 2 is an
arrangement of Benny Golson's Whisper Not: Track 5 is an arrangement of Easy
Rider and the CD ends with a blues, Candy Man by the British team of
Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse, arranged by Hollingsworth. So the whole
album has a somewhat disjointed feel, though not enough to spoil the listening
experience. Maybe if a sheet with the lyrics had been included, that would have
helped.
Yes, there is a
definite jazz feel to Wave the Sun Goodbye, sung in a sweetish voice,
with some very tuneful vocalese and a repeated groove of piano and drums to end
the song. Track 3, Beneath An Evening Sky, has a suitable ethereal feel,
high notes from the piano and continually rumbling bass and drums; Hey There
Rider has the drums playing a riding rhythm and Easy Rider has the
organ playing a rather rock-style solo. With the final blues we return to a
jazz feel from the organ.
The Cd is available,
on the Gladitude Records label. Listen to samples on Soundcloud under
Kathleen-Hollingsworth/tracks
1/ Wave The Sun
Goodbye 2/ Whisper Not 3/Beneath
An Evening Sky 4/ Hey There, Rider 5/ Easy Rider;6/ Passing Of The General 7/
Weightless 8/ Candy Man.
Ann Alex
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