Album Review: This Way from Tom Ranier

Album:  This Way
Artist:  Tom Ranier
Website:  https://tomranier.com

This Way, the latest release from Tom Ranier is a balm on the listener's senses.  He composed six of the eight tunes on the recording and plays the piano and synthesizer, as well as soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes. His music tells stories through images projected in the instrumentation.   Joined by Trey Henry on acoustic and electric basses, Ralph Humphrey on drums, and Thom Rotella on guitar, Ranier's music is easy listening jazz imbuing audiences with a natural high.

The pensive strokes of his keys coasting along "Yes, Kloose" move at a languid pace transitioning into the melodic wisps of Randy Brecker’s signature piece "Secret Heart," trelised in the tender crimping of Rotella's guitar strings.  Ranier creates a introspective-style monologue along "Trio Vision" that gives audiences insight into the thoughts roaming through his mind, then conveys a somber mood in "Rhapsody" that draws out sensitive emotions in the listener.  The suave rhumba-esque gait of his saxophone moving in and out of "Desafinado," a bossa nova standard composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim, lathers the listener in warm, balmy atmospherics.

Ranier browses along a plethora of introspective musings, creating monologues and collective voices that take audiences through sophisticated landscapes stenciled in a stylistic penmanship.  This Way is Tom Ranier's first recording as a leader in 14 years.  His personalized musings are relatable to broader audiences, bringing them to a natural high.

Musicians:

Tom Ranier - piano, synthesizers, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, bass, eb, contra-alto clarinets, and composer

Trey Henry - acoustic and electric bass

Ralph Humphrey - drums

Thom Rotella - guitar