Album Review: Truth from The Seth Weaver Big Band

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Album:  Truth
Artist:  The Seth Weaver Big Band
Label:  Outside in Music
Website:  www.sethweavermusic.com

An award-winning trombonist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and educator, Seth Weaver leads a 17-piece swing orchestra on his debut release Truth from Outside in Music label.  Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Weaver's band works as a unified team while demonstrating the dexterity and virtuosity of individual band members.  Weaver's band continuously produce congenial aesthetics for the listener.

Starting off, the serpentine scrolls of Addison Frei's piano keys pave a poetic missive through "Here's That Rainy Day," fringed by the soft glittering doodles in the cavalcade of horns.  A natural blues crooner, Weaver's vocals add sentiment and dimension to Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke's melody.  The track is distinguishable, toggling between the elegant crests of Weaver's vocals and the soaring altitude of the horns.

Weaver's harmonic sensibilities are displayed in "Frost," garnering a soothing sonorous splayed in the torchlight arcs of his trombone, which shift to a jaunty stride along "The Hudson."  The suave bluesy tone in his timbres on "On a Clear Day" coast gently along the languid rhythmic swells, honing a romantic vibe that envelopes listeners in total bliss.

Weaver's affinity for soulful blues infuses a somber warmth in "The Last Hour of February," garbed in melodic phrases that project a lamenting mood.  The dynamics change to the surging flares of the horns swinging vibrantly through "It Could Happen to You." Weaver's re-tweaking of Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke's classic tune is froth with the improvised squiggles and swirls of Sam Dillon's tenor saxophone, Lukas Gabric's tenor sax, and Marty Kenney's bass sax, each demonstrating a keen dexterity in their strokes.

Balancing inventive phrasing with finely composed harmonic forms, Seth Weaver and his 17-piece orchestra create congenial aesthetics for listeners. A student, an educator, a creator, and live performer of swing, Seth Weaver is a well rounded artist who makes music sound like absolute fun.

Musicians:
Seth Weaver - Vocals and trombone

Saxophones:
Lucas Dodd (alto, clarinet tracks 3 and 7)
Alex LoRe (alto, flute tracks 3 and 7)
Sam Dillon (tenor, clarinet tracks 3 and 7)
Lukas Gabric (tenor)
Eitan Gofman (baritone, clarinet tracks 3 and 7)

Trombones:
Nick Grinder
Corey Wallace
Peter Nelson
James Borowski (bass)

Trumpets:
John Lake
Nolan Tsang
Andrew Neesley
Oskar Stenmark

Rhythm Section:
Aleksi Glick - guitar
Addison Frei - piano
Marty Kenney - bass
Nolan Byrd - drums

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