The writer of this press release gets high marks for enthusiasm, low marks for restraint or clarity. I have erased the names of the innocent artists.
Since the early 1990s, the soulful, spacey jazz grooves of X have been a familiar part of ______’s alternative music scene, having in the past released her own original music on ________ Records. X’s keyboard skills have augmented the live performances and studio recordings of world renowned artists such as ______, soul diva R, as well as X currently being a core member of W’s space jazz outfit P.
X Five is her latest project, nearly entirely acoustic, and is an intoxicating cocktail of her many diverse influences including blues and soul, jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms, combined with ambient dance music, always interesting, absorbing and surprising. The album represents a fresh direction for the label, and is one they are extremely excited about.
Opening up with ________which is a spell binding and hypnotic blend of 21st century jazz sensibilities, combined with ambient dance music minimalism and is a first rate lesson in the ‘less is more approach’ to music making. The sense of restraint and space captured on this recording is a quite beautiful and rare thing, especially in the jazz world.
Renowned vocal sensation Q makes two contributions on the album, the first being the rolling, rhythm & blues romper stomper H, which is already egetting major support from critics and jazz radio, and allows Q to stretch out within a fresh and wide open musical landscape and the result speaks for itself. Her second appearance on this collection, I, is gospel influenced soul with X’s tender piano and organ work underpinning Q’s quite outstanding and touching vocal performance.
Across on the entire album, X and her band mates, bassist K and percussionists D and G, adeptly weave together various rhythmic palates into a varied but cohesive selection of sounds that draw together a world of influences and textures, from the latin pulse of V, the jaunty and swinging vibe of G, and the punchy yet considered attack of T, this tight musical unit display a rare skill for playing with taste, precision and a selfless, collaborative attitude where the only end result that matters is the music.
JAZZ LIVES 