The Landscape
Blue Canoe, 2022
8/10
The Southern California vocalist Marilyn Scott brings her inimitable craft to these timeless 7 tracks that take influence from legends like Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Andy Bey, and benefit from Scott’s lengthy career in soul-jazz sounds and interest in Brazilian music.
“Thrown Out Into Space, Butterfly” leads the listen with Scott Kinsey’s warm keys and Steve Tavaglione’s soulful sax complementing Scott’s expressive and agile vocals, and “The Landscape” follows with Gary Novak’s precise drumming helping illuminate the vivid storytelling and melodic climate.
The album’s best, “Irreplaceable”, arrives in the middle and showcases “Michael Landau’s spirited guitar and Jimmy Haslip’s strategic electric bass in the 7 minutes of crisp and dreamy song craft, while “Tomorrow” gets a bit more rugged, even firm, thanks to Vinnie Colaiuta’s proficient drums and Kinsey’s colorful keys, as well as Scott’s diverse pipes.
“The Sun” exits the listen, and presents The Perri Sisters on backing vocals amid the cultured and cautious interplay between the guitars, drums, keys and, of course, Scott’s irresistible voice.
This is Scott’s 13th album as bandleader, and was born out of a need to be creative during the pandemic. The collaborators are among her closest friends, and together it makes for a very complex but easily enjoyable and richly textured body of work.
Travels well with: Rafael Greco- Dice Que Vive (Signs Of Life); Melbreeze- I Love Paris