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Amina Figarova: Blue Whisper
ByJust as consistently, however, Blue Whisper swings hard. Not to take anything away from Figarova's excellent former drummer, Chris "Buckshot" Strik, but Jason Brown's playing on Blue Whisper is simply marvelous. Brown is one of the new generation of drummersguys like Marcus Gilmore, Tyshawn Sorey, and Makaya McCravenwho are currently setting the jazz world on its collective ear. Here, his playing is wonderfully subtle. Brown's gentle, almost march-like cadences on the title track, an elegiac ballad, are perfectthe tune needs something more than brushes, but a slow rock beat wouldn't work either. He shines particularly brightly on two slyly funky pieces, "The Traveler" and "The Hustler," that seem almost tailor-made for Brown's dynamic, poly-rhythmic approach. Like Sorey and Nasheet Waits, Brown has a light touch that permits him to play a bit more busily than more heavy-handed drummers. He locks in well with both bassists. The other new players in the lineup are seasoned pros. Big-toned tenor man Wayne Escoffery and nimble trumpeter Alexander Pope Norris acquit themselves in stellar fashion, as one would expect.
Figarova and Platteau are both in excellent form throughout Blue Whisper. An economical, melody-centric soloist, Figarova is at her best when improvising on ballads. Her solos on "Hewa" (nicely assisted by Sarah Charles' wordless vocal) and "Moonrise" are particularly evocative. Yet, she displays a similar sort of grace on the "The Traveler" and the up-tempo "Moving Upwards," one of the more complex and involved pieces she's committed to record. Besides giving the front line a distinctive flavor, Platteau gets plenty of improvisational elbow room. He follows Anthony Wilson's soulful guitar guest shot with a particularly rich improvisation of his own on "Pictures."
Blue Whisper is a strong set of modern mainstream acoustic jazz. Far from a routine effort, Figarova peppers the disc with plenty of curveballssuch as the spoken word on "Hear My Voice"that will keep listeners on their toes.
Track Listing
Blue Whisper; Moving Upwards; Hear My Voice; The Hustler; Pictures; Marians; The Traveler; Moonrise; Juno; Hewa.
Personnel
Amina Figarova
pianoAmina Figarova: piano; Bart Platteau: flutes; Alex Pope Norris (1- 7,9-10), Ernie Hammes (8): trumpet; Marc Mommaas (3-6, 8,10), Wayne Escoffery (1-2, 7,9): tenor saxophone; Luques Curtis (1-3, 5,7,9-10), Yasushi Nakamura (4,6,8): bass; Jason Brown: drums; Anthony Wilson: guitar (5); Sarah Elisabeth Charles: vocals (10); Salhiya Bilal Tumba, Shamiyl Bilal Tumba: spoken word (3).
Album information
Title: Blue Whisper | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: In + Out Records