Reminiscing
Self-Released, 2025
9/10
A collection of songs that are ‘70s rooted but reimagined in Elaine Dame’s modern jazz vision, the veteran artist brings her flute and voice to these 9 FM hits that welcome an all-star cast.
The playful bass plucking from Sam Peters opens the listen alongside Dame’s bright voice amid much friskiness, and “Use Me” follows with Jon Deitemyer’s agile drumming and Neal Alger’s warm guitar that suits the expressive pipes.
“Wish You Were Here” and “Sing Child” land in the middle. The former is an intimate moment of soft beauty that benefits from Chris Madsen’s elegant sax, while the latter recruits Alyssa Allgood and Christy Bennett’s soaring harmony vocals via the animated and colorful album highlight.
Arriving near the end, “Last Dance” showcases Tom Vaitsas’ eloquent keys that align with Dames gorgeous singing that tugs on the heartstrings, and “Love Will Find A Way” exits with a rhythmic energy that allows for the crisp drums, bouncy bass, well timed sax and meticulous keys to illuminate the flawless vocals.
Dame set out to record this album in 2019, but the pandemic put a stop to that, and the loss of her parents put the project on hold even further. Now she’s in a better frame of mind and it makes for a really fun and nostalgic body of work.
Travels well with: Mafalda Minnozzi- Riofonic; Judy Wexler- No Wonder