A feelgood but hardly indulgent celebration of spring the vocals soaked 'Storms and Oceans' written by Ostara's co-leader bassist Jodi Proznick rewards prolonged attention as the arc of the piece allows plenty of closely arranged ebb and flow between the Cherise-like vocals of Joanna Majoko and the horns and rhythm section of the ensemble.
Euphonious throughout, melody has not been exiled to another space or place, The Ostara Project was recorded at a Vancouver studio earlier this year.
Proznick surfaces very pleasantly in a deft bass solo towards the end while 'Bye Bye Blackbird' sounds brand new at the beginning before Majoko's soulful rendering of the lyrics gives the game away but still makes you forget how familiar the Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon song in the canon since first being recorded in 1926 and so luminously rendered in the 1950s by Peggy Lee on Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues remains. Yet another strong release from Cory Weeds' valuable centrist Cellar Live operation. The Ostara Project, photo Cellar Live/Bandcamp
Tags: