Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jo Ann Daugherty: Bring Joy

3

Jo Ann Daugherty: Bring Joy

By

View read count
Jo Ann Daugherty: Bring Joy
On her third release as a leader Bring Joy, lyrical pianist Jo Ann Daugherty showcases her uniquely fluid style on the ten enchanting interpretations that comprise the album. Overall, as the title suggests, a jubilant ambience prevails. This is not to say that the music is monotonously celebratory, on the contrary it is vibrant and quite multifaceted with various motifs subtly and intricately woven within it.

On pianist Abdullah Ibrahim's classic "Water From An Ancient Well" Daugherty takes a lilting solo that she fashions out of thick resonant chords and cascade of chiming notes. Her elegant and sinuous pianism percolates with understated virtuosity over her band mates' relaxed, swinging beats. The ensemble play maintains the original's folkish elements and emotive warmth.

Daugherty's own effervescent "Alive" features the leader creating sophisticated and exuberant phrases with deceptive facility. Drummer Ryan Bennett and percussionist Geraldo de Oliviera's rumble and bassist Lorin Cohen's reverberating strings built delightfully hypnotic and alluring refrains. Guitarist Neal Alger improvises with gusto and fiery tones as he takes his turn in the spotlight adding a passionate dimension to the charming composition.

Daugherty also penned the uplifting and gospellish "BJ's Tune." The rhythmic framework brims with bluesy flourishes. Daugherty lets loose complex spontaneous lines laced with melancholy over guitarist Felton Offard's muscular strums. Daugherty's imaginative approach to the keys and agility on them thrills and stimulates while remaining quite accessible.

Cohen's "Hope For Love" shimmies with a tango-esque sensuality. Daugherty embellishes the gorgeous melody with graceful ease. Cohen takes center stage with a yearning ardent soliloquy that evolves with a lithe suavity and supple finesse. Meanwhile on one of his other contributions, the cinematic and expansive "Unconditionally," he coaxes out of his instrument a darkly dulcet song. The tune also demonstrates the trio's seamless camaraderie as they overlap their individual voices for an exquisitely multilayered and harmonious performance.

With Bring Joy Daugherty has recorded a thematically cohesive work that is a testament to her immense talent and superb musicianship. It is intelligently constructed and reservedly sentimental, thus it should have a wide appeal. It is a bright spot in Daugherty's relatively short career and, hopefully, harbinger for a bright road ahead.

Track Listing

Water from an Ancient Well; The Way You Know Me; Unconditionally; The Secret Life of Plants; Alive; Elsewhen; BJ's Tune; Hope for Love; Dolphin Dance; The Wedding.

Personnel

Jo Ann Daugherty: piano; Lorin Cohen: bass; Ryan Bennett: drums; Neal Alger: guitar (4, 5); Geraldo de Oliviera: percussion (4); Felton Offard: guitar (7).

Album information

Title: Bring Joy | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Self Produced

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.