 Feel The Rhythm | | Personnel:Alex Acuna, percussion; Jose Neto, guitar; Marc Russo, alto sax; William Kennedy, drums Saul Serria, bass, Troy Lampkins, bass, | | Tracks:All or Nothing at All, Under the Moon and Over the Sky,Turn Around, Sunshine of Your Love, Feel the Rhythm, Moon and Sand, Fragile Luiza, Don’t You Worry About a Thing, Dreams of a Tango. | |
Daria
Feel The Rhythm
Produced and Arranged by Wayne Wallace and Frank Martin.
“A great album is like a great vacation. It should engage and transport you out of the doldrums, give you new experiences and insights beyond the ordinary, but most of all, it should make you feel good.” Jesse “Chuy” Varela
COPYRIGHT 2005 Latin Beat Magazine
I took this quote from Jesse right from the liner notes, because this hits on the head as how I feel about Daria’s new release, entitled “Feel The Rhythm”. This is a fresh sounding disc that is wonderfully produced by Wayne Wallace and Frank Martin. Music such as this goes beyond category, for it embraces many musical traditions.
Traditionalists may shy away from music like this, but I could not turn the music off, for Daria is an expressive singer who is confident in Latin, pop and jazz musical styles. She displays a three octave range, and uses it tastefully throughout.
The other quality that drew me to Daria was her tasteful use of lyric improvisation throughout. She communicates authentically, and there’s an open quality to her expression. I saw a reviewer (whom will not be mentioned at JR247) who insinuated she sounded contrived and out of rhythm. This was not the case when I tool a listen. She sings with a convincing groove and is a tasteful translator of lyric.
She surrounds herself with people who knew how to showcase her. Wayne Wallace and Frank Martin use a variety of surrounding musicians to accompany Acuna, Russo, Kennedy and Neto. This is a conceptual recording, exploring Samba, Afro-Cuban, Rhumba, Tango and the like. However, there’s a pop quality to some of the music, mainly because of the choice of instrumentation. My hope is people can get by this and listen to creative musicianship. I feel I can hear real talent in moments of listening to an artist, and Daria has it my friends.
I love beautiful, tasteful artists, with great pitch control, who then can take crafted talent and turn it into an expressive vehicle. Daria does just that. The CD will take through a variety of Latin styles, accompanied by tasteful arrangements. Well done!!
For more information about Daria and her music, please visit: DariaJazz.com
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