With a hip cutting edge vibe that may well blow you away, contemporary, instrumental jazz group Dreaming In Colour has just released its debut CD, ‘The Dream Merchant’. Constructed around the band’s core members of Kevin Ellis, Chris Noonan and Joe Calandrino, the line-up has often, over the years, been complemented by some of the genre’s top artists and this is particularly so with ‘The Dream Merchant’ for which Ellis, Noonan and Calandrino are joined by Jeff Lorber, Eric Marienthal and Nelson Rangell.
In fact Lorber features on all ten tracks with Marienthal contributing to seven of them. He is in stupendously high-octane form for the fusion filled ‘Crosswinds’ and later the free flowing, sax driven ‘Waiting In Texas’ serves as another opportunity for his playing to really sizzle. The interplay between Calandrino on guitar and Lorber on keys is a focal point of the retro tinged ‘Chromatic’ while ‘Keepsakes’ proves to be a jazzy yet velvety number where the combined talents of Ellis, Noonan, Calandrino, Lorber and Marienthal are found to be at their impeccable best.
‘Davy’s Byrne’ is another lively foot stomper where the lead is generously shared amongst the combined gathering. Notable here is Lorber on keys and he again cuts sensationally loose on ‘Percolator’ which has a groove reminiscent of that often generated by his own band The Jeff Lorber Fusion.
Calandrino takes center stage for the ultra catchy ‘No More Goodbyes’ and although the commercially appealing ‘Twilight Drive’ is the product of a three-way collaboration between Lorber, Kevin Ellis on bass and Marienthal on alto, when the tune is reprised as a sub two-minute closer, Marienthal’s switch to soprano takes away none of the magic.
Despite ‘The Dream Merchant’ being a CD where the tempo remains relatively high throughout, ‘Yearbook’ provides a delicious contrast that adds to the richness of the entire collection. Also relaxed in style, and arguably the best track on the album, is the title song where Smooth Jazz Therapy favorite Nelson Rangell is wonderful on soprano sax.
It is one reason of many why you should make ‘The Dream Merchant’ part of your listening pleasure.
Tracklist:
01. Chromatic [04:53]
02. Yearbook [05:22]
03. Twilight Drive [05:31]
04. The Dream Merchant [05:14]
05. Crosswinds [05:05]
06. Keepsakes [04:49]
07. Percolator [05:05]
08. Waiting In Texas [05:07]
09. Davy's Byrne [04:32]
10. No More Goodbyes [04:00]
11. Twilight Drive (Soprano Reprise) [01:51]
02. Yearbook [05:22]
03. Twilight Drive [05:31]
04. The Dream Merchant [05:14]
05. Crosswinds [05:05]
06. Keepsakes [04:49]
07. Percolator [05:05]
08. Waiting In Texas [05:07]
09. Davy's Byrne [04:32]
10. No More Goodbyes [04:00]
11. Twilight Drive (Soprano Reprise) [01:51]
Personnel:
Piano/Keyboards - Jeff Lorber and Tim Pascoal
Saxes - Nelson Rangell and Eric Marienthal
Guitars - Joe Calandrino
Bass - Kevin Ellis
Drums - Chris Noonan
Saxes - Nelson Rangell and Eric Marienthal
Guitars - Joe Calandrino
Bass - Kevin Ellis
Drums - Chris Noonan
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