A (sometimes) gentle gem that's almost impossible to pigeonhole. There's so much going on that genres fly out the window and, upon first spin, I found myself struggling to come to terms with what I was hearing. I played it again and, taking in David Mott's words of wisdom in his ultra perceptive essay, A Letter to Lee Konitz, I found myself listening rather than just hearing what was going on.
The timbre of the voice of Beraha is an integral part of the first three tracks, sinuously winding its way around sound and sentence. BBC Radio 3 described Beraha as one of the most creative vocalists on the UK scene and, after listening to the final track, I tuned in to Soweto Kench's late night jazz show on the aforemention radio station and it was almost a continuation of the album. It wasn't but it could have been.
George Crowley, on either of his two horns - bass clarinet on the three vocals and tenor on the instrumentals -, is equally effective. He's not shooting for the moon or, if he is, he's taking the scenic route. Subtle and selective in solo or support.
New Zealander Muir has won awards down under for his piano playing, composing (New Zealand National Concerto Composition in 2009) and Young Performer of the Year (2006) before moving to London to study at Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
His compositions are a very emotional combination of jazz and classical music enhanced by the performers - not least by his own Bill Evans meets Fred Chopin approach - and the words of Anjali Bhat.
You probably won't be doing the boogaloo to the music but you may try out your ballroom skills with a new-fangled minuet or get into a gavotte groove or maybe not.
Whatever, it's quite captivating if you dig deep enough. Lance
Sunlight; Home Now; Silent Acknowledgement; Balm; Overjoyed
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