Album Review: Passage from Bill Heller
Album: Passage Artist: Bill Heller Album: Billunatic Music Website: https://www.billunaticmusic.com Composer-keyboardist-bandleader Bill Heller fuses contemporary jazz with easy listening melodies on his latest release Passage . The uplifting spirit of the tracks is infectious, seething with elation in each phrasing. The sleek stride of the saxophones paired with the pulsating beats of the rhythm section and the warm aesthetics of the guitar riffs make for a pleasing experience from beginning to end. Heller's original work "Viaggio" is a soft, simmering bossa nova melody twined in the silky glitters of Brandon Fields's alto sax, infusing a romantic glint in the soothing mood. The recording switches to a festive ambience with the funky squiggles of Heller's keyboards braiding across "FT Shuffle," and shifting to a cheerful saunter along "Journeys End." Following is a flowering bouquet of textures through "The Flow," gilded in t...