Album Review: Distant Song from Fred Farell

Album:  Distant Song
Artist:  Fred Farell
Label:  Whaling City Sound
Website:  www.fredfarell.com

Jazz crooner Fred Farell embarks on a voyage through torchlight palisades in his latest recording Distant Song.  Appearing with Farell on the tracks are Dave Liebman on saxophone and Richie Beirach on piano, coruscating his vocals in delicate embers and being sensitive to framing his storytelling summaries.

Farell's vocals caramelize with Beirach's expressive inflections made by the keys, flowing with a palliative tone along "Lonnie's Song" and buckling the listener into the smooth torchlight-scape.  The narrative voicing in Farell's delivery on "Tomorrow's Expectations" echoes of the jazz crooners before him like Andy Williams, who reached out to his audience by talking to them directly.  Farell sings directly to the listener, making an impactful impression.  The impact is a team effort as Beirach has a proclivity for phrasing poetically nuanced keys while Liebman's saxophone breaches the torchlight-scapes with soaring flares that add depth to the melodies.

Changing course, the instrumental "Forgotten Fantasies" is a testament to piano-driven arias as Liebman's saxophone paddles alongside, tracing silky curlecues in the air.  The overall mood of the recording is sombre and reflective, delivering tales to the listener about timeless questions relating to dreams and why we are here.  In "Mitsuku," Farell laments, "From somewhere in my soul / Is a dream that grips all my thoughts / It calls to me to return  / To a life evolved for your peace / And says that I should ask / For the reasons why I am here."

Each number is a smooth elixir of balladry swells and calming atmospherics.  The trio craft expressive nuances along their torchlight-scapes, affecting the listener intimately.

Musicians:
Fred Farell - vocals
Dave Liebman - saxophone
Richie Beirach - piano