2014-04-07
Ou was formed in Italy in 2012. The band's debut, PIsces Crises, is a busy disc with a whole lot going on. Seattle producer, Amy Denio, must have had her hands full with this one. There is ukelele, organ, a horn section, piano, bass, drums, kalimba, vibraphone, and glockenspiel all backing many voices. The whole band sings (as well as the producer!). It all comes together to form a vocal jazz sextet; but this isn't your parents' vocal jazz. What Ou makes is entirely different. There are unusual time signatures, punchy or whispery vocalizations, and odd instrumentation. Contemporary vocal jazz is one of my least favorite genres. Ou brings me into the fold.
Rebecca Ruth
Various Artists
European Jazz Stage (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
JAKE BERGEVIN
Holding Back the Dawn
Brad Mehldau Trio
Live
The Hot Club of San Francisco
John Paul George & Django
SHAWN LEE'S PING PONG ORCHESTRA
Reel To Reel
Le Rex
Wild Man
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