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 nuance...