Jacqueline Tabor

The Jazz in You – Live at the Seattle Vespers

Self-released

With her sultry alto voice, Jacqueline Tabor shows off polished vocal phrases and pearls of lyrical interpretation in her album The Jazz in You – Live at the Seattle Vespers. With a pleasant mix of popular classics (“Autumn Leaves,” “April in Paris,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Nature Boy”), the seasoned veteran showcases her range of vocal tools and the perks of performing throughout Seattle with a talented backing band of musicians.

Vocally, the highlights are “One Note Samba,” with bouncing rhythms and a spirited saxophone solo by Alexey Nikolaev, and the despondent ballad “You’ve Changed,” capturing the soulful intricacies that form the essence of her sound. Clipper Anderson also elicits a summer flare with his bass solo on “Autumn Leaves,” and Randy Halberstadt absolutely commands the keys in “April in Paris.”

With a strong foothold in the Seattle jazz scene, Tabor is ripe for a career-defining album. Until then, grab your mint mojitos and let yourself be swept away by this Latin-infused performance.

–Edan Krolewicz

Marc Seales

American Songs, Volume 3: Place & Time

Origin

Marc Seales’ melancholic astral odyssey through the heartland of the country is a hybrid of dance-friendly funk grooves and reflective musings. In this third leg of musical travels, we follow Seales and “American Blues” through the midwestern cities of Chicago and Detroit, through Kansas and the plains, west to the beaches of L.A., and finally back home to Seattle.

Greeted at the door by a sparse funk bass line, the even-tempered guitar solos take our coats as we take our places at the table. Suddenly, guitar solos and padded synths permeate the ether and send sonic vibrations throughout the place, transporting us into the realm of astral jazz, and then back towards the funky jams of earth again.

Back and forth we travel in this fashion, with Seales infusing synth magic into Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusher Man” and “Freddie’s Dead,” while Fred Hamilton’s guitar bends brilliantly over introspective piano riffs in “Wichita Lineman.” “Looking For Another Pure Love” may incite nostalgia, while “Maddie At The Getty” gives us a personal view of Seales’ relationship with his daughter – a tinge of angst and trepidation melding with a serene acceptance. Jeff Johnson’s tasteful basslines guide the poignant descents in “Remember Why.” The album ends with a sublimely heartfelt track called “Love’s Question,” which is my favorite of Seales’ solos – sometimes exasperated, sometimes keen, but always musing.

Drummer Gary Hobbs particularly deserves a nod. With elegant reserve, he connects the free-wheeling solos with penetrating fills, and masterfully rides the backbeat, his rhythms transforming the group into a cohesive cosmic whole.

–EK

SpiceRack 

So Hip It HURTS

Self-released

It’s about 2,700 miles from Seattle to New Orleans, but if you don’t have the gas and the time to drive there, take a shortcut and give the new SpiceRack album a spin instead. Steeped in the sound of instrumental funk icons The Meters, crossed with extended solos, psychedelic flavors, and the more, groove-based experimentalist strains of the jam band scene, SpiceRack’s debut album features 11 intricately tasty originals penned by guitarist Tristan Gianola. Ranging from the good-time funkiness of album opener “Keep Your Hands Off My Stash,” to the more angular modalities of “Carved Into Stone” and the anthemic space-rock vibes on “Dem Stars Look Good (They Make Me feel Nice),” the band displays a broad range of slinky grooves, inspired soloing and confidently locked-down group interplay.

The recording has a wonderfully airy and open live sound to it, giving the instruments room to breathe, and conveys the sense that SpiceRack are no doubt a potent performing unit. We can always use a little funky heat up here in Seattle, and So Hip It HURTS nimbly provides the spark.

–Andrew Luthringer