Kaleidoscope
OA2, 2024
8/10
The sophomore recording from Mai-Liis, the 9 songs here welcome some excellent players and equally skilled guests for strong storytelling that touches on her influences, i.e. Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones and Leonard Cohen.
The warm spirit of “Book” starts the listen with Darin Clendenin’s graceful piano and Mark Ivester’s frisky drumming that suits Liss’ expressive pipes, and “Wash Away The Wrong” follows with David Lee Joyner’s twinkling keys and Clipper Anderson’s aching bass via the emotive climate.
Halfway through, the dense “New Year’s Ditty” showcases Alexey Nikolaev’s bright tenor sax amid the vocal acrobatics, while Hans Teuber contributes alto flute to the flowing intimacy of the poetic “Whitehorse, Yukon”.
Landing closer to the end, “Wondrin’” highlights Brian Monroney’s cozy guitar lines that complement Liis’ charming voice, and “Springtime” exits with a glowing melodic nature that embraces radiant sax, mature keys and a soft rhythm section to illuminate the gorgeous singing.
A memorable body of work that’s sensitive and can still swing, Liis fleshes out a timeless vocal jazz affair that’s genuine and compelling.
Travels well with: Anthony Stanco- Stanco’s Time; Clarence Penn- Behind The Voice