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
VICTOR WOOTEN
PALMYSTERY
JACK DEJONETTE AND BILL FRISELL
The Elephant Sleeps But Still Remembers
L. ZIADE
Project Chill: Memoirs of a Jazz Band
ELISABETH KONTOMANOU
Back to My Groove
Bill Charlap Trio
Somewhere: The Music of Leonard Bernstein
FO/MO/DEEP
Eclecticism
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