Aaron Tesser & The New Jazz Affair "Lookin' Ahead"

Aaron Tesser & The New Jazz Affair

"Lookin' Ahead"
(Irma Records, 2008)

Tracklisting :
01 Stella
02 Everlasting Rose
03 7,40 PM
04 You, Me And Jazz
05 Instant Love
06 Feel
07 My Love Is A Song
08 Little Darling
09 One Plus One
10 My Song
11 Oko Bop
12 Faraway
13 Full Sail, Soulship


Review :

A really great record, despite the somewhat mundane cover image -- a set that might be more at home on Schema Records than Irma, given its warm jazzy feel and tight modal grooves! Instrumentation is mostly acoustic, although there's a bit of beats in the rhythms too -- and the album sparkles wonderfully with jazzy vocals that light things up beautifully! Aaron Tesser leads the group on tenor sax, but the real star to our ears is vocalist Fabrizio Rispoli -- who sings on nearly all the tracks, often with a style that's a bit like that of Mario Biondi -- soulful and scatting, with echoes of some of our favorite male jazz singers of the 60s and 70s. Elisabeth Geel sings on a few more tracks, with a slightly sweeter female approach, but one that's still quite strong -- and other instrumentation includes alto sax, trumpet, guitar, and plenty of great percussion.

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By Rob