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Jane Bunnett: Embracing Voices
ByLead voices have also been crafted to include the rich sonic tapestry of Telmary Diaz's rap, the soaring, soulful inflections of Kellylee Evans' pipes and the gravelly and emotionally-charged blues of Molly Johnson, who leads the cast in one of the most definitive versions of legendary Belgian troubadour Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away (Ne me quitte pas)" since Nina Simone. Throughout the record there is a wonderful interplay of instruments, which provide impetus to the human voice and surround it with rich tonal colors.
"Sway," a fine composition opens with a series of quarter notes sung a capella by Desandann before a drum roll that introduces the bass pedal point and the repetitive hypnotic riff draws in the rest of the group into its spirit-based musical vortex. "Kaleidoscope" features a rich, minor variation start to the song, which then proceeds to unfold like a vocalese poem, accompanied by the flute and the militaristic rattle of snare punctuated by splashes of cymbals. The voices of Desandann then introduce the purest painon the deeply traditional Afro-Haitian colorationas the sopranos and mezzo-sopranos launch into "Wongolo," a beautiful Haitian freedom song that says: 'We will rise again... Haiti will not die...' Bunnett's flute flits like a firefly around the voice of Kellylee as "Serafina," a bright work that is infused with the rhythmic intensity of a Cuban rumba and a streaming R&B romp into landscapes that cascade one into the other. There is much more to recommend this fine record.
Finally, it has been a while that the legendary Don Thompson has opened the door to his musical genius. On this record he plays bass, piano and vibraharp, arranges his own composition, "Egberto" and "If You Go Away," andas Bunnett herself suggests, is, with the saxophonist and husband/trumpeter Larry Cramera towering presence amid a group of musicians looking to make a significant contribution to the art of jazz. Any label that is bold enough to stand by Afro-Cuban jazz music deserves high praise for being brave and brassy in backing high creativity over rank popularity.
Track Listing
Sway; Kaleidoscope; Wongolo; Serafina; If You Go Away; Pancho Quinto; I Hear Voices; Chen Nan Ren (Protest Song); Egberto; A Nu Danse; Pa Gen Dlo (There's No Water); The Only One (For Sheila Jordan).
Personnel
Jane Bunnett
saxophone, sopranoJane Bunnett: soprano saxophone and flute; Larry Cramer: trumpet and flugelhorn (1-3, 6-10, 12), producer; David Virelles: piano and marimba (1, 3-5, 7, 10, 12); Don Thompson: vibraharp (1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10), piano (2, 9, 11), marimba (8), acoustic bass (5, 9); Junior Terry: acoustic bass (1-4, 6-8, 10, 12); Jorge Torres (Papiosco): bata (2-5), bata and percussion (7, 8, 10, 12); Frank Durand: drums and marimba (1-5, 7-10, 12); Pablosky Rosales: tres (2-5, 7-10, 12); Barry Schiffman: viola (7); Grupo Vocal Desandann: vocals; Kellylee Evans: vocals (1, 2, 4, 12); Molly Johnson: vocals (5); Telmary Diaz: vocals and spoken words (6); the ensemble: coro.
Album information
Title: Embracing Voices | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records
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About Jane Bunnett
Instrument: Saxophone, soprano
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