New CD from Tom Harrell

[bebopbob]

Any opinions or thoughts about Tom's latest CD? It looks like he's using some different/expanded arrangments with an expanded group including vocals by Jane Monheit, Dianne Reeves, etc.

[chris olivarez]

I don't know but it sounds interesting.Harrell is so underrated.

[Jazzmoose]

Haven't heard it, but thanks for the post; "new Tom Harrell" is synonomous with "want list" for me!

[Alexander]

I picked this one up yesterday, and I can't stop listening to it. Harrell's arrangements are so rich and so deeply textured...there's so much to hear, and yet he always makes his writing accessable. There is quite a bit of fusion on this album. Xavier Davis plays Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3, and other electronic keyboards as well as acoustic piano. There's some electric bass and electric guitar as well. Some of the arrangements are more "pop" than others, but every track is interesting and dense. I'd say that of the tracks with the vocalists, Claudia Acuna's is the best. Dianne Reeves is OK, but I find her voice to be somewhat generic. Jane Monheit does a nice job, but I'm really not a fan of hers either. Cassandra Wilson puts in a very good performance. Overall, the instrumental tracks are better than the vocal tracks, but the vocal tracks break up the album and provide some variety. Harrell's interest in Brazillian and other world musics continues as he uses all manner of interesting percussion instruments on the album. He also makes good use of strings, as he has in the past. On the whole, I think this is a worthy addition to Harrell's catalogue.

[relyles]

I have gotten in the habit of picking up Harrell's recordings as a matter of course, but I was concerned about this one. I am not heavy into vocals. On this one, I am only a fan of Wilson and Reeves. Alexander, how many vocal tracks are there compared to instrumentals?

[Eric]

Here is his new one circa 2007:

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?...37822&BAB=D

[Eloe Omoe]

Tom Harrell has just recorded two CDs here in Italy. The first is a trumpet-piano duo with Dado Moroni; the second is a sextet session with Moroni (piano), Andrea Dulbecco (marimba and vibraphone), Riccardo Fioravanti (bass) and two drummers (Stefano Bagnoli and Enzo Zirilli). This group is called Psychodrum. Both CDs will be issued in the next months by Abeat Records.

luca