Album Review: Christmas All the Way from Accent

-
Album:  Christmas All the Way
Artist:  Accent
Label:  Accent Entertainment, LLC
Websites: accentvocal.com
                 youtube.com/AccentVocal
                 facebook.com/AccentVocal
                 instagram.com/AccentVocal
                 twitter.com/AccentVocal

Christmas songs presented by traditional vocal ensembles seems like a trend from the past but every now and again, a vocal group brings audiences the beauty of traditionally decked tunes like the vocal sextet Accent.  Their Christmas album Christmas All the Way simmers like a slow burning flame on tracks like "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "The Christmas Song," and jangles like a holiday festival in numbers like "A Holly Jolly Christmas" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year."  The group's vocal harmonies are gorgeously nuanced, making them uplifting and able to bring an ounce of bliss to the holiday season.

Accent's rendition of the Swedish holiday gem, "Jul, Jul, Strålande Jul" (English: Christmas, Christmas, glorious Christmas), glitters softly in the care of the sextet's vocal harmonizing.  Uncluttered by instrumentation, the group's vocal sonics are mesmerizing.  The recording shifts to the dashing swing-clad instrumentation of "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow," producing a celebratory atmosphere laden in the blazing horns of the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band.   Don Shelton's clarinet solo on "The Christmas Song" creates wispy swells along the track like velvety snow covered slopes, and the string arrangement played by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra on "O Holy Night" shroud the vocal harmonies in silky gossamer that suspends the verses floating along the track. Accent creates a new stratosphere in the melodies where their voices move.

The six members of Accent reside in five different countries, Simon Åkesson from Sweden,  Jean-Bapiste (“JB”) Craipeau from France, Danny Fong and Andrew Kesler from Canada, James Rose from the UK, and Evan Sanders from the US.  The six singers got together via the internet and have released 3 recordings previously.   Their works are collective collaborations whereby each member has a part in the arrangement and/or writing and direction of the melodies.  Their recordings are indeed homespun and made for listeners to hear at home and for audiences to share the experience in arena settings.  

Accent Members:
Simon Åkesson - tenor (Sweden)
Jean-Bapiste (“JB”) Craipeau - tenor (France)
Danny Fong - tenor (Canada)
Andrew Kesler - tenor (Canada)
James Rose - baritone (United Kingdom)
Evan Sanders - bass (United States)

Special Guests:
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
The Budapest Scoring Orchestra
Gayle Levant - harp
George Shelby - saxophone solo
Walter Rodriguez - percussion
Arturo Sandoval - trumpet solo
Don Shelton - clarinet solo 
Estonian Voices - vocals
Jo Goldsmith- Eteson - vocals 
Sam Robson -  vocals

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Album Review: This Could Be The Start from Linda Purl

-
Image
Album: This Could Be The Start Artist:  Linda Purl Label: Reaching Records Website:  https://www.lindapurl.com Vocalist Linda Purl and her music director Tedd Firth come together for their fourth album, This Could Be the Start .  The collection contains Purl's reimagination of a handful of jazz standards, tailored to her vocal specifications.  Supported by an intimate cadre of musicians that include bassist David Finck, drummer Ray Marchica and reed player Nelson Rangell, Purl finesses a selection of Great American Songbook jewels with a contemporary sheen. The playful merengue rhythm driving "Blue Moon," a swinging romp written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, is trussed in Ray Marchica's percolating percussion and a profusion of jutting keys performed by Ted Firth.  The track steps out of the customary schematics of swing jazz bolstered by blues vocals and articulates a Latin-imbued tremor.  The bossa nova curves shaping one of Cole Porter's signature pieces,
Read more

Album Review: The Ways In from James Zollar

-
Image
Album:  The Ways In Artist:  James Zollar Label:  Label: JZAZ Records Websites:  https://www.rsberkeley.com/james-zollar https://www.discogs.com/artist/954763-James-Zollar https://wyntonmarsalis.org/personnel/detail/james-zollar A straight-ahead jazz oeuvre, The Ways In from bandleader and trumpet player James Zollar resumes a quest where pioneers of the trumpet's sympathetic vibrations like Clifford Brown and Bill Coleman left off.  Zollar shows audiences the delightful, melodious tone of the trumpet, moving in harmony with an array of brass, woodwinds, and rhythm instruments. The robust wails of Zollar's trumpet strutting languidly along "Do Nothing 'till You Hear From Me" emotes an enduring personable trait, unwavering persistence in the face of being dejected.  The recording switches to a joyful atmosphere in "Swing Spring" with jangly beats from percussionist Chembo Corniel, interfacing with the buoyant ripples generated by Michael Rorby's trom
Read more

Album Review: Globetrotter from Luca di Luzio

-
Image
Album:  Globetrotter Artist:  Luca di Luzio Label:  Self-Released Website:  www.lucadiluzio.it   Guitarist Luca di Luzio's upcoming CD, Globetrotter  is an assortment of contemporary jazz tunes bridging funk, blues, soul, and Latin music.  Comprised of a few jazz standards and a handful of original works written by Luca di Luzio, a prolific guitar player who studied different styles of music, the recording expresses his personal vision of jazz guitar based on melody and groove.  Joining Di Luzio in his vision are bass guitarist Jimmy Haslip, drummer Dave Wecki, keyboardist George Whitty, and saxophonists Max Ionata and Alessandro Fariselli. From dance-funk numbers like "Jazzlife" and "Elisir" to the soft billows and reflective moods projected in "Smile" and " Buena Suerte," Di Luzio's artistry stems from his vision to make music that is aesthetically pleasing.  "Sunshower," a tune written by Kenny Barron, is a pr
Read more