Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Maroon: Who the Sky Betrays

119

Maroon: Who the Sky Betrays

By

View read count
Maroon: Who the Sky Betrays
In a world populated with a plethora of female jazz singers whose focus is to interpret, reinterpret and interpret, yet again, the Great American Songbook, it is refreshing to hear Maroon, whose latest disk, Who the Sky Betrays combines jazz improvisation, a strong pop sensibility and contemporary grooves into a wholly unique experience.

The influences here are clear: take a dash of M-BASE ("When the Storm Comes"), a pinch of ambient (Radiohead's "The Tourist"), a taste of modern jazz balladry ("Show Me") and a hint of hip-hop ("Bully on the Block"); singer Hillary Moon and her supporting cast blend these diverse influences into something that could only come from the urban sprawl of New York City.

The group takes the traditional piano trio and refashions it into a completely contemporary sound. With a subtle inclusion of electronics a la E.S.T., and a sometimes aggressive style that owes something to The Bad Plus, Maroon sounds more like a pop band with an improvisational sensibility than a jazz group working in the other direction.

Maroon's lyrics lean towards the political, with "Bully on the Block" fairly directly assessing the Bush administration's foreign policy; "Beyond the Bliss" questions the future after a brief meeting; "Is This the Time?" considers how to live in these troubled times.

Maroon, pianist Benny Lackner, bassist Derek Nievergelt and drummer Lance Carter are joined on five tracks by the inimitable Marc Ribot, whose guitar ranges from a textural backdrop on "The Tourist" to jagged and angular on "Is This the Time?" Nate Wooley and Alex Hamlin contribute a dissonant horn section to "When the Storm Comes" and "Beyond the Bliss."

Maroon is able to put a new spin on things, even over-worked material like "When I Fall in Love." The treatment is harmonically open, recalling Miles' '60s quintet in its avoidance of the obvious. Arrangements of Soundgarden, John Lennon and Chrissie Hynde material reveal the breadth of the group's musical influences and knowledge.

Hillary Maroon's voice whispers and growls, rasps and soars. Like the rest of the group, she is less concerned with displaying her own considerable chops and more interested in creating a collective sound that is distinctive in its reassessment of the languages that form its roots. Who the Sky Betrays is an important release of contemporary pop with a strong jazz sensibility, with a crossover appeal that deserves to be heard by fans of both genres.

Track Listing

Is This the Time?, Bully on the Block, Will It Matter Whe We Were?, The Tourist, When the Storm Comes, Show Me, Black Hole Sun, Beyond the Bliss, Spun Me Shaky, When I Fall in Love, Isolation

Personnel

Hillary Maroon--voice; Benny lackner--keyboards; Derek Nievergelt--accoustic bass; Lance Carter-- drums. With special guests: Marc Ribot--guitar; Nate Wooley--trumpet; Alex Hamlin--alto sax;

Album information

Title: Who the Sky Betrays | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Head Fulla Brains

Tags

Comments

About Maroon

Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar

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.

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.