| Jazz |
Our friends from A.M.A Records are preparing to release a particularly fun album produced by Diego Lombardo. This duo is graced with the presence of singer Francesca Sortino. Here we have all the talent that makes A.M.A Records successful, capable of releasing both classic jazz albums and albums like this one, which are decidedly urban. To be honest, this is a genre we love. Besides Francesca Sortino’s beautiful voice, which fits perfectly with this project, the arrangements are truly sumptuous, with clear influences from Miles Davis’ recent albums, even though the compositions are quite different. The way they place brass and wind instruments adheres to these rules.
This is the kind of jazz you can dance to all night long, and the 14 tracks on this CD also make it easy to imagine this group performing live. The progression of the tracks is close to perfection, and you get captivated by a splendid, hip-hop jazz number. Nowadays, it’s impossible not to think of Miles Davis when listening to this album. It almost sounds like a tribute in the style of that strange Australian film from the ’80s, “Dingo,” which is nearly impossible to find today. But we are in that somewhat strange, suspended dynamic, driven by the sound of urban jazz that transcends the sandy runway where the star’s plane touches down, in front of the eyes of a mesmerized young boy.
Yes, there are albums like this one that resonate with other forms of art, whether it’s literature, painting, or film. This is a direct result of the cultural influences of the artists who create these albums. Here, we are surprised by an album that appears easy to access but, in reality, the way the singer’s voice and the instruments are placed, along with the incorporation of various cultures, make it an intellectual work in its own right. There are subtle flamenco influences, as in the track “Con Alma.” What if this were a novel in the form of a postcard that “Two Gold of Things” invites us to explore? This book could have easily been the soundtrack for Paul Auster’s New York Trilogy, with its urban, cosmopolitan feel, its way of engaging with the world, and the sensation of walking the streets, day or night, as long as culture thrives!
So, yes, the editors of Bayou Blue Radio and Paris-Move have fallen in love with this album. Is it one of our “Essentials”? Absolutely, passionately, madly…
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, September 27th 2023
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