Love & Liberation
| Love & Liberation | ||||
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| Studio album by Jazzmeia Horn | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Concord Jazz | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
12 |
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running time |
48:09 |
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| occupation |
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Chris Dunn |
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Love & Liberation is the second album by jazz singer Jazzmeia Horn . It was released on August 23, 2019 by Concord Jazz .
background
Horn named her album Love & Liberation because it was a “concept and mantra ” that she consistently applied in her everyday life. “For me, the two go hand in hand and both describe where I am at in my life and my career. An act of love is an act of liberation, and the decision to liberate yourself or another is an act of love. "
In the opinion of Jörg Heyd (WDR), Horn's album Love & Liberation is “a kind of musical diary with 12 chapters, which she has dedicated to individual people, experiences, love and her turbulent life as a musician.” In addition to eight original compositions, she interprets on Love & Liberation also includes four foreign compositions: "No More", a title by Hubert Laws (music) and Jon Hendricks (text), Erykah Badus "Green Eyes", Rachelle Ferrell's "Reflection of My Heart" and the standard "I Thought About You", a title by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer .
Horn's backing band features longtime pianist Victor Gould , bassist Ben Williams , drummer / singer Jamison Ross , saxophonist Stacy Dillard and trumpeter Josh Evans on the album .
Track list
- Jazzmeia Horn - Love & Liberation (Concord CJA 00155)
- Free Your Mind (Jazzmeia Horn) 4:47
- Time (Jazzmeia Horn) 1:55
- Out the Window (Jazzmeia Horn) 3:30
- No More (Hubert Laws-Jon Hendricks) 3:47
- When I Say (Jazzmeia Horn) 2:29
- Legs and Arms (Jazzmeia Horn) 7:23
- Searchin '(Jazzmeia Horn) 3:02
- Green Eyes (Erykah Badu) 5:19
- Still Tryin '(Jazzmeia Horn) 4:23
- Only You (Jazzmeia Horn) 1:14
- Reflections of My Heart (George Duke, Rachelle Ferrell) 6:32
- I Thought About You (James Van Heusen, Johnny Mercer) 3:48
reception
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According to Peter Jones ( London Jazz News ), Jazzmeia Horn works "with the same sense of ease and sophistication that we are used to from other younger American singers like Cécile or Kandace Springs ." But she also has a lot of vocal power to hear on “Green Eyes”, where her scat singing is best described as “muscular”, and she can articulate a naughty blues just as well as Cécile McLorin Salvant (for example in “Still Tryin '”). She also shows impeccable taste in her choice of materials and has what it takes to write: In this context, Jones particularly refers to the long ballad “Legs and Arms”, in which the influence of Sarah Vaughan becomes clear, especially “in her use of the curly Glissando and her ability to zoom up and down through a wide vocal range. ”In the soul ballad“ Reflections of My Heart ”she harmonizes wonderfully with the drummer and singer Jamison Ross. Her interpretation of the standard "I Thought About You", which she only presents by bassist Ben Williams, is also convincing.
On “Searchin '” the singer moves “in the land of bebop ”: Horn is actually very good at high-speed vocalise . The spirit of Jon Hendricks, with whom she still on the album Meet Me at Minton's the band JC Hopkins biggish had taken was to feel here as well as in "No More".
Matt Collar awarded the album 4½ (out of five) stars in Allmusic . In his opinion, Jazzmeia Horn is "a highly talented jazz singer with a bright, resonant voice that is suitable for both soulful standards and vocalese numbers." Her accompanying musicians are virtuosos and bring a rich improvisational energy to Horn's album. The first track, the lively Betty Carter- esque “Free Your Mind”, has “an organic quality” that is reminiscent of the kind of jazz albums that were made in the 1970s, when artists made their hard swinging post -Bop with soul and R&B influences. This aesthetic is reinforced by Horn's selection of cover versions , including the bluesy song “No More” and her “sensual, atmospheric” interpretation of Erykah Badu's “Green Eyes”. Horn's intimate duet with Ross on the ballad "Reflections of My Heart" by George Duke and Rachelle Ferrell is equally convincing.
Horn also brings a clearly strengthened female perspective to Love & Liberation , the author continues, “by playing back on her experience, raising two daughters in 'When I Say' and the male gaze with the unrequited ballad 'Legs and Arms' upside down. Elsewhere, Horn shows her talent for songwriting very memorable originals, such as the bright swinger 'Out the Window' and the equally driving 'Searchin', which emphasizes her dynamic skills as a vocal improviser. Similarly, she immerses herself in the cheeky blues of 'Still Tryin' 'and continues her straightforward jazz skills with an urbane reading of the' I Thought About You 'standard. "
The radio program WDR 3 chose Love & Liberation as album of the week; Jörg Heyd noted: "With her songs, Jazzmeia Horn tells small stories that are personal, but understandable."
Jim Hynes wrote: “There is a wide range of styles, from pure jazz to scat and blues to contemporary R&B with different instruments, from a full band to just one instrument to an a cappella duet. You exude a strong sense of African American identity. Others speak with conviction of being a strong, independent woman. And there are certainly love and relationship songs, not the silly ones, but those that represent both tenderness and humor. "
At the end of November 2019, the album was nominated for the 2020 Grammy Awards in the Best Jazz Singing Album category.
Web links
- Love & Liberation at Concord Jazz
- Kevin Whitehead: Singer / Composer Jazzmeia Horn Is a Double Threat on 'Love & Liberation'. National Public Radio, September 10, 2019, accessed September 30, 2019 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jazzmeia Horn's second album Love and Liberation is a bold declaration of musical maturity, cultural identity, and personal growth. Concord, accessed October 15, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Jörg Heyd: Jazzmeia Horn - Love and Liberation. WDR 3, September 23, 2019, accessed on September 30, 2019 .
- ↑ Peter Jones: Jazzmeia Horn - Love & Liberation. London Jazz News, May 24, 2019, accessed September 30, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Review of Matt Collar's album at Allmusic (English). Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ↑ Jim Hynes: On Second LP 'Love & Liberation,' Jazzmeia Horn Invokes Big Band Style of Ella & Dinah (ALBUM REVIEW). Glide Magazine, August 22, 2019, accessed September 30, 2019 .
- ↑ 2020 Grammy Nominations Announced. JazzTimes , November 27, 2019, accessed November 27, 2019 .