Losing My Mind
Self-Released, 2023
8/10
The vocalist, saxophonist, arranger and composer Darmon Meader brings us a handful of selections from the Great American Songbook, plus a couple of originals, and he’s got some excellent help to flesh out the meticulous affair.
“It Could Happen To You” opens the listen with warm vocal scatting, before expressive singing and Andy Ezrin’s charming piano enters the uplifting delivery, and the title track follows with Ben Wittman’s agile drumming and Steve Kenyon’s dreamy flute complementing Meader’s well timed clarinet.
Halfway through, “Gaia’s Lament”, an original, finds an intimate place to reside, where Marcello Pellitteri’s brushed drums and Ezrin’s elegant keys match Meader’s smooth singing, while “I Hear Music” makes great use of Jay Anderson’s strategic bass amid graceful pipes and, later on, a swifter demeanor.
Approaching the end, “All My Loving” showcases Romero Lubambo’s swirling guitar and the romantic singing in the McCartney and Lennon classic, and “The Song Is You” exits with a bouncy, animated and timeless spirit that is populated by Frank Greene and Scotty Barnhart’s booming trumpets and Mike Davis and Jay Ashby’s radiant trombones in the big band finish.
Meader is also a founding member of New York Voices, and this sophomore solo outing has him interpreting classic songs with much appeal, and his own tunes are equally enjoyable, too.
Travels well with: Jonathan Mills- No Mentions, No Worries; Andy Adamson Quintet- A Coincidence Of Cats