Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Sara Serpa, "Mobile", for Original Music and Interesting Vocal-Instrumental Juxtipositions


Sara Sherpa treats her voice as a horn. Mostly wordless vocals, theme and scat, set up the sound of the band and help define her originality. The rest is what she composes and what the band goes with in the process of realizing them. Mobile (Inner Circle 022) is the name of the release. It's Serpa on vocals, Andre Matos on guitars, Kris Davis on piano and Rhodes, Ben Street on the upright, and Ted Poor, drums.

In essence these are freely progressive, loose but structured improv compositions. There are strong melodic lines, nicely harmonized, and kind of post-Dead Can Dance sensibility that combines some world elements, a bit of a rock beat here and there, and a kind of ECM meets bossa Brazil blend that transcends all the elements to get at where Sara and the band want to be.

Very encouragingly original, new harmonic music!! That's what you have on this one.

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