| Jazz |
For her fifth album, Alison Crockett remains vocally impressive as this is where the album truly excels, featuring compositions by renowned songwriters such as Cole Porter and Chick Corea, rather than original works. The story of the album begins with Crockett’s father, a music enthusiast. “The house we lived in had a bar, and next to it were huge speakers connected to a state-of-the-art audio system. Every evening in his home nightclub, which my mother called ‘the Florida room,’ my father would sit down after work and play music for up to eight hours every night of my childhood. That’s how I learned about music.”
Echoes Of An Era Redux is intended as a tribute to her father and serves as the starting point for Crockett’s artistic consciousness. Here, she takes us on a journey through the albums her father listened to, “My Father’s Record Collection,” which will feature her interpretations of the music that informed, inspired, and influenced her as she grew up within earshot of the Florida room’s speakers. The series will reflect the powerful legacy of jazz and African-American music through the records that created America’s history, presenting a journey into the past with a contemporary touch.
Indeed, we can feel in her interpretations a desire for both great freedom and perfection, just like the accompanying band, which makes us forget it’s a live performance due to the quality of the performances. The band includes Paul Carr on saxophone, Thad Wilson on trumpet, Todd Simon on piano, Dana Hawkins on drums, and Eliot Seppa on bass. It’s a great team of musicians on which Crockett can rely, becoming an “instrument” herself at times.
Alison Crockett clarifies, “My father spoke to his family through music. I learned his thoughts and emotions through the music he played. This series is my connection to my father.”
Who says jazz must be calm, inscrutable, and something to listen to while lying down? This recording takes you on a sonic journey that makes you want to dance alone or with a partner, while remembering her music-loving father and his record collection.
This is a collection album that, while dear to Crockett’s heart, has also touched the hearts of Paris-Move and Bayou Blue Radio critics, who classify the album as “essential.”
Thierry De Clemensat
Correspondent in USA
Bayou Blue News – Bayou Blue Radio – Paris-Move
PARIS-MOVE, April 24th 2023
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