Yukon
Self-Released, 2025
9/10
The jazz collective Madre Vaca bring their fusion ways to these 8 originals, where plenty of solos and grooves are present and appreciated.
The animated and flowing “Blue Bird” starts the listen with Thomas Milovac’s playful bass and Jarrett Carter’s meticulous guitar making for an unpredictable climate, and “Portraits Of A Swan” follows with a dreamy mood that’s pretty and cautious.
“Dormant” and “They Say” occupy the middle spots. The former offers a rich and dynamic moment of grace and exploration, while the latter benefits much from Benjamin Shorstein’s frisky drumming and Jonah Pierre’s complicated keys.
“Titan’s Folly” resides near the end and radiates dreaminess and poeticism in its 6+ minutes of thoughtful instrumentation, and “Tangle Talk” exits with a rock inspired landscape of complex guitar, firm drums, scrappy bass and lively keys.
This is Madre Vaca’s 6th album, and much like everything they’ve done it’s a diverse body of work that embraces swing fun, emotional balladry, haunting moments and plenty of power.
Travels well with: Madre Vaca- Knights Of The Round Table; Matt Panayides Trio- With Eyes Closed