Search - Iris Ornig :: New Ground

Great German composer and bassist

Scott Williams | Oakland, CA United States | 08/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I first heard Iris playing at the 55 Bar in NYC, I was immediately drawn to her clever, warm, multipart songs. These songs have a lot of little parts that flow nicely from one section to the other. The really great thing about her music is it never sounds complicated or cerebral. Even though there is a lot going on there is a warm mood that permeates throughout. It's very relaxing and calming music, but at the same time interesting and compelling. The style of the music lies somewhere between your 60's post bop Wayne shorter sort of thing and the classic 50's hard bop sound. Iris is joined on this album by Danny Grissett (piano), Daisuke Abe (guitar), Yoshiro Okazaki (trumpet), Tony Jefferson (drums). A couple of the songs features vocalists (Rebecca Martin and Nunga Babu). However, most of the album is instrumental.



Song Highlights:



Chicken Only On Sunday - This song opens with a very catchy walking bass Riff and light cymbal work by Jefferson. The trumpeter Okazaki (who has a beautiful airy tone) makes a few statements that a broken up with some nice piano solos by Grissett. Apparently Iris likes her chicken and her mom would only make it on Sundays.



The Very Same Sensation - A very moody ballad. Once again there is stellar trumpet work by Okazaki and piano playing by Grisset. The rhythm section features very light cymbal and brushwork. The song also features a nice bass solo by Ornig.



Grateful Friendship - This song has a calypso feel to it. It features great chemistry and interaction with the band members. Drummer Tony Jefferson adds nice embellishments and afterthoughts throughout.



Caravan - A clever, slowed down version of the Ellington classic. There is very minimal orchestration on this piece, just bass drums and piano. The pared sound instrumentation really gives is an nourish, North African feel, which just fits the song perfectly.



I highly recommend this album. Take a chance on this relatively young, rising star and you will not be disappointed. So far this is my favorite album of 2009. If you are not familiar with pianist Danny Grissett or trumpet player Yoshiro Okazaki you will be pleasantly surprised after listening to this album.

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