Album Review: I Was Here from Andy Ezrin

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Album:  I Was Here
Artist:  Andy Ezrin
Label:  Ez It Iz Music
Website: andyezrinmusic.com
Instagram: Andyezrinmusic

A prolific composer, arranger, pianist, and bandleader, Andy Ezrin is the Sidney Sheldon of jazz, articulating life and its encounters as being fun and mind-opening exchanges, filled with experiences that expand one's world.  His music expresses thoughts in a lyrical symposium, embracing the joy generated from doing the work that one loves. 

Andy Erzin's new release I Was Here, produced by Ezrin and Chris Hajian, is clad in original compositions and arrangements by Ezrin.  From the sheer merriment projected in "Grapes" to the relaxing ruminations that arch across "Greenwoman," Ezrin's nimble movements are accentuated by the freestyle verses played by Donny McCaslin on tenor saxophone and Randy Brecker on trumpet.  Improvisation and harmony walk hand in hand in the music, notably along the swift exchanges and spontaneous banter documenting "I'm Running Outta Time," anchored by a thrusting toe-tapping beat played by bassist John Patitucci and drummer Ari Hoenig.

The soft saunter of Ezrin's keys kindle a reflective mood along "Luna" and change to a romantic glow across "Siren Song."  The music fits into people's lifestyle, complementing their nature to move towards good vibrations, and "Snowfall" achieves this objective without debate.  "Ain't That Some Sh*t" is a cheerful number with a cool jazz swagger woven into the harmonic forms, while "Never Enough" pervades a torchlight shimmer in the instrumentation.  The sensitive wails of Brecker's trumpet are silhouette by Ezrin's low lit keys suspended by a brushing of rhythmic beats.  The leisurely gait of Hoenig's drums and the mellow and spacious feel of Ezrin's keys ambling along "Lost Days" is subtlely absorbed into the listener's lifestyle, as though this is music that is designed to be lived.

Lyrical and harmonious, Ezrin's music has a subtle and positive effect on listeners, having them feel happy and light with little effort.  The press release describes, "He communicates happiness in a way few pianists can – not ecstatic happiness but the simple happiness of men at work doing work they love."  In a nutshell, this is the effect listeners can expect.

Musicians:
Randy Brecker - Trumpet
Donny McCaslin - Tenor Sax
Andy Ezrin - Piano, Hammond B3, Rhodes
John Patitucci - Bass
Marcus Gilmore - Drums
Ari Hoenig - Drums

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