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| Aimée Allen, Love & the Catalyst, feat: Grammy-Nominated Toru Dodo.... Composer, Arranger, Vocalist Aimée Allen is back with Love & the Catalyst Street Date: September 30, 2022 Add Date: September 26, 2022 The examples are all around us. Profound changes that call on us to adapt and absorb, find our higher selves, feel the disorientation, and rebound, to ultimately connect with each other and the universe in new ways. This is music of catalyst and connection. As we are changed, so are we called on to be instruments of change, for ourselves, for each other. May the catalysts who leave the world different than they found it light the way. May we too sow the seeds of change, with love. Vocalist and songwriter Aimée Allen's latest release, Love & the Catalyst presents her striking original music alongside a few diverse, yet familiar, selections from the jazz cannon. The songs address change and the catalytic agents that bring it about. Transformation, large and small, personal and collective, social and scientific, is the theme, with the alchemy of romance explored though the surprisingly sensual metaphors of science and the cosmos. The result is a musical prism, leading the listener through bold, moving, and soulful takes on issues such as climate change, George Floyd's death and legacy, the human toll of the pandemic, and love as the ultimate agent provocateur. Tribute is also paid to one who changed the art form, Chick Corea, in a tour-de-force medley of two of his best-known compositions. An array of rhythmic and harmonic textures is reflected and refracted as Love & the Catalyst invites the listener to change, be changed, and make change. The Songs A driving, energetic rendition of "Little Sunflower" kicks off the album with a note of hope. We are then reminded in the provocative and penetrating "Earth is Waiting" that hope alone is not enough to address climate change; action is required. "Quantum Entanglements" is a grounded and soaring meditation on how we (like the referenced phenomenon of quantum physics) can remain connected and yet be flexible and free. The lush and faithful Chick Corea medley of "Crystal Silence / 500 Miles High" pays fitting tribute to the icon, shimmering with reverence. "Star Eyes" is delivered here as never heard before, in large part as a voice and drum duo with a playful wink and nod, and the band swelling in at the refrain. "Love's Crescendo" takes universal love seriously, in a soulful, sensuous groove. "Reaction Time" switches gears to a bold, hyper-dynamic drum and bass beat, accompanied by a suggestive lyric. "Mortally Immortal" revisits Mozart's Requiem as a jazz-infused mass for those lost to Covid, with a lyric meeting our experience. "The Comet's Tail" speaks to the fleeting and unpredictable nature of the exceptional. "Man Ripples Through Time" is a solemn protest and dirge that testifies to the extraordinary legacy of an ordinary man. "Hidden Place" is a compact, bluesy rage of comeuppance. "Worlds Collide" presents the age-old story of two becoming one as an ethereal, achingly beautiful affair of the cosmos. The Band Known as much for her compelling and poignant compositions as her signature heartfelt vocal style, Aimée leads an ensemble of master musicians: Grammy-nominated pianist Toru Dodo, world-renowned bassist François Moutin, dynamic and multifaceted drummer Kush Abadey, virtuosic guitarist Tony Romano, and a new young talent, trumpet player Noah Allen, Aimée's nephew. TRACKS, TIMES, COMPOSER CREDITS 1. Little Sunflower 5:58 (music by Freddie Hubbard and lyrics by Al Jarreau) 2. Earth is Waiting 5:47 (music and lyrics by Aimée Allen) 3. Quantum Entanglements 5:30 (music and lyrics by Aimée Allen) 4. Crystal Silence / 500 Miles High 8:22 (music by Chick Corea and lyrics by Neville Potter) 5. Star Eyes 5:37 (Gene de Paul and Don Raye) 6. Love's Crescendo 5:56 (music by Fahir Atakoglu and lyrics by Aimée Allen) 7. Reaction Time 4:39 (music and lyrics by Aimée Allen) 8. Mortally Immortal (Requiem) 5:03 (music by Mozart and lyrics by Aimée Allen) 9. The Comet's Tail 5:15 (music and lyrics by Aimée Allen) 10. Man Ripples Through Time 5:28 (music and lyrics by Aimée Allen) 11. Hidden Place 5:15 (music and lyrics by Aimée Allen) 12. Worlds Collide 6:13 (music and lyrics by Aimée Allen) PLAYERS INSTRUMENT: Aimée Allen - voice Toru Dodo - piano François Moutin - bass Kush Abadey - drums Tony Romano - guitar (track 2) Noah Allen - trumpet (track 4) CREDITS: Aimée Allen - producer Michael Perez-Cisneros - sound engineer Misha Piatigorsky - sound editing Brian Montgomery - sound mixing Alan Silverman - mastering Janis Wilkins - photography Ksenia La Hun - illustrations Recorded at Big Orange Sheep in NYC on July 31 & August 1, 2021. TOUR DATES: US Tour: Sunday, September 18, 2022 Aimée Allen - Love & the Catalyst Album Release Hermana 349 E. 13th St. New York, NY 10003 *** European Tour: Saturday, October 15, 2022, 8pm Aimée Allen w/ Alex Webb Trio Hampstead Jazz Club The Duke of Hamilton 23-25 New End Hampstead, NW3 1JD London, England Tuesday, October 18, 2022, 8:30 pm Aimée Allen Quartet w/ Karim Blal, François & Louis Moutin Sunset 60 rue des Lombards 75001 Paris, France Friday, October 21, 2022, 7pm Aimée Allen Quartet w/ Karim Blal, François & Louis Moutin Chorus Avenue Mon-Repos 3 Lausanne, Switzerland 1005 write your comments about the article :: © 2022 Jazz News :: home page |