JOHN HÉBERT — Rambling Confessions (review)

JOHN HÉBERT — Rambling Confessions album cover Album · 2015 · Vocal Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
snobb
After excellent "Floodstage",released on Portuguese Clean Feed label last year, advanced American bassist John Hébert comes with very different new album on American label. If "Floodstage" was a sophisticated piano trio album (with most interesting modern French pianist Benoît Delbecq and busiest American drummer around Gerald Cleaver),"Rambling Confessions"(Sunnyside Records) is modern avant-garde vocal jazz quartet inspired by vocalist Carmen McRae legacy but doing all things on unorthodox way.

With no doubt,vocalist Jen Shyu is a key figure of this new release. US-born(to Taiwanese and East Timor parents) experimental vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, and Fulbright scholar becomes an significant artist on modern jazz scene. Few days ago she sung in Paris as Steve Coleman band member and her new solo album will be released next week. Jen combines jazz vocal techniques with South East Asian improvisational singing, classical vocals and experimental wordless vocalize.

For listener unfamiliar with Jen Shyu singing,this music from very first seconds is a new experience (which probably could be compared with Jeanne Lee or Irene Aebi singing even if all three vocalists are very different). All-acoustic instrumental trio works perfectly as singer's minimalist accompanists with a few soloing but it would be great to hear more their musicianship besides of pure vocalist's support - from artists of that level listener expects more, especially on album where bassist,not singer is stated as leader.

Main album's attraction is to listen how inventively Jen reworks jazz standards - often on the very border,but never crossing the thin red line.The only factor why this album isn't a true masterpiece is that that all songs are of same slow to mid-tempo and despite of unique singing manner after some time "sameness" factor hampers to appreciate really great music.

One of the strongest candidate to the best experimental vocal jazz album of the year.
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