Keiko Matsui - Echo

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:47
Size: 102,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. Unshakeable
(4:14)  2. Moon Over Gotham
(4:15)  3. Echo (feat. Marcus Miller)
(5:53)  4. Esprit (feat. Kirk Whallum)
(3:51)  5. Marlin Club Blues (feat. Robben Ford)
(4:17)  6. Invisible Rain
(4:57)  7. Spirit Dance (feat. Gretchen Parlato)
(3:11)  8. Now Is The Moment
(4:21)  9. Viva Life
(5:08) 10. Return To Eternity (feat. Kyle Eastwood)

If name-dropping were a crime, keyboardist Keiko Matsui would have a helluva time promoting Echo. The album features a string of well-known artists, including guitarist Robben Ford, saxophonist Kirk Whalum, vocalist Gretchen Parlato, bassists Marcus Miller and Kyle Eastwood, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and percussionist Luis Conte. Suffice to say, Matsui never wants for good company here, and not just the household-name variety. Trumpeter/flugelhornist Wayne Bergeron, for example, scores high marks on a series of horn charts that enhance the album’s brassy vitality and soulful allure. Which brings us to keyboardist Randy Waldman. The chief architect behind eight of the album’s 10 arrangements, Waldman makes the most of the assembled talent by avoiding tacked-on solos and routine cameos. Matsui shows a similar flair for arranging on the Brazilian-tinged “Spirit Dance,” a sensuous, multi-layered showcase for Parlato’s lithe voice and a reminder of Matsui’s often overlooked stylistic reach. Of course, Echo resonates with spiritual themes and interludes, a Matsui trademark, as the focus shifts between electric and acoustic textures. Yet she and Waldman keep things moving, sometimes pitting horns against percussion during funk excursions, sometimes exuberantly accenting Latin polyrhythms. Guitarist Ford’s input on “Marlin Club Blues” is typical of the guest turns concise and expressive and the same goes for Miller’s sinuous bass turn on the album’s title track. ~ Mike Joice https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/keiko-matsui-echo-shanachie/

Personnel: Piano – Keiko Matsui; Alto Saxophone – Brandon Fields; Bass – Jimmy Johnson; Drums – Vinnie Colaiuta; Guitar – Paul Jackson Jr.; Keyboards, Programmed By [Programming] – Randy Waldman; Percussion – Luis Conte; Trombone – Nick Lane; Trumpet – Walt Fowler

Echo

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