Hiroe Sekine: After the Rainfall

Sekaimusic
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: After the Rainfall

Once in awhile, we encounter an artist who just has too much talent; Hiroe Sekine falls into that category. This Japanese-born young woman is a pianist, composer, arranger and vocalist — she sings in four languages — and she excels at each skill. 

Her first album a-me (which means “rain”), released in 2009, utilized a sextet featuring piano, sax, trumpet, trombone, bass and drums; half the tunes were her compositions, while the rest were jazz standards ... and everything swung marvelously.   

For this release, she retained Bob Shepard on sax and flute, and Peter Erskine on drums, added guitarist Larry Koonse, and utilized two bassists: Darek Oles on acoustic and Jimmy Johnson on electric. This instrumentation, and Shepard’s use of flute and the higher-register reed instruments, results in a “lighter” sound. In addition, while a-me contained only instrumentals, After the Rainfall includes some vocals; Sekine’s voice, heard on the title song (her own composition), Jobim’s “Inutil Paisagesm” and Toninho Horta’s “Aqui O,” is exceptional. Her duet with Arnold McCuller on the beautiful Beatles ballad “In My Life” is gorgeous.

A quartet format — consisting of Sekine’s piano, Sheppard’s soprano sax, Ole’s bass and Erskine’s drums — is used for Chick Corea’s “Windows” (one of Sekine’s favorite melodies). The final three tracks ably demonstrate how well this lady swings. For “So But Anyway,” she switches from piano to electric keyboard; Koonse and Sheppard provide great solos, backed by some tasty work by Erskine. “Spoon Key” is a truly swinging, straight-ahead tune that will cause all body parts to move; and Monk’s lesser-known “Evidence” morphs into a rock/fusion mode.

This is an exciting follow-up to Sekine’s debut album: a release that fulfills the promise of that initial offering. Her many significant talents, particularly when combined with the similarly excellent artists in the combo, will ensure great success for her in the future.

Denise Donatelli: What Lies Within

Savant Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 1.8.09
Buy CD: What Lies Within

The Los Angeles-based Denise Donatelli sort of did it backwards: after she started a family. This CD is her first for Savant, and only her second overall, but she has had experience with the Freddy Cole and Stan Kenton alumni orchestras, and performed at a number of jazz concerts.

I'd classify Donatelli as a musician first and vocalist second; she's a true member of the band, and not just a singer being backed up by the group.

Why do I say that?

The first thing she did, when planning this album, was to ask Geoffrey Keezer, a top jazz pianist and arranger, to handle arrangements and production. Keezer wasn't familiar with her at the time, but it didn't take him long to say yes.

A primary selling point was Donatelli's decision to give him free-rein; her instruction was “Write whatever you want; I can sing anything.” (He did, and she can.)

Next, Keezer chose some of the best sidemen in the Los Angeles area: trumpeter Carl Saunders, reed-man Bob Shepard, guitarist Peter Sprague, bassist Hamilton Price and drummer Marvin Smith, along with an organist, cellist and additional percussionist. The resulting group, led by Keezer on piano, really swings.

Finally, only two of the 11 tracks are well-known standards (“My Shining Hour” and “We'll Be Together Again”); the remainder are beautiful but lesser-known tunes with lyrics that force the listener to concentrate.

Donatelli truly is a jazz musician and vocalist. You'll love her.