Album Review: The Portal from Thor Polson

Album:  The Portal
Artist:  Thor Polson
Label:  Self-Released
Website:  thorpolson.com

Pianist Thor Polson takes listeners through an imaginative portal into utopian sounding worlds on his latest offering The Portal.  His rapport with the musicians on his recording displays a refined choreography, resonating a soothing stroke throughout. Even the ruffled twirls of Dana Mathewson's soprano saxophone on "Sparrow" are soothing, assuaging listener's senses with a lulling caress.

 
The balladry stride in Polson's keys strolling elegantly along “Norwegian Blue” has a meditative glint. The composition is a tribute to the majestic and often misty landscape of southern Norway.  The suave and casual amble of Polson's keys amplify a Dave Brubeck-esque quality in “Beyond Pettus Bridge: A Dream Deferred” while the furling toots of Jeff Keys's trumpet and Keith Nance's tenor saxophone add thickness and movement to the track.
 
The swirling motions of Steve Watne's harmonica give “Waltz for Heather" a rustic complexion as Polson's keys shepherd the wandering strands. Pressing forward, the sensual vocalese of singer Nancy Harms affixes a healing vibration through "Threnody," a tune dedicated to Polson's father while the flaring squiggles of Allan Adler's tenor saxophone on “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise” has a fancy-free versing that engages the listener's aural senses with a hypnotic grip. 
 
The Portal is dedicated to the memory of Charles Shelby, containing eight original tracks penned by Polson, a collaboration with Jeff Keys, Eric Solberg and Joe Dowdall, and the jazz standard "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise” written by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein. The tracks were recorded in the Twin Cities and southern Oregon where Polson has become a fixture on the club circuit.

Musicians:
Allan Adler - tenor saxophone
Joe Dowdall - drums and percussion
Nancy Harms - voice
Jeff Keys - flügelhorn and trumpet
Dana Mathewson - soprano saxophone
Theresa McCoy - drums
Dave Miller - acoustic bass
Keith Nance - flute, tenor saxophone, and soprano saxophone
Thor Polson - keyboard and piano
Darrell Pridgen - electric bass
Eric Solberg - acoustic bass and voice on "Potion of Solitude"
Steve Watne - harmonica

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