Customer Reviews

Out of the Blue

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I didn't like this album as much as the other two that I own (Look Left and Quartet). This one is, to be blunt, very bland. I would have a hard time picking out the music from this album from anything played on a smooth jazz station. I could remember the songs on her previous two albums long after the CD ended. With this one they are gone before I hit the eject. It is not a bad album and makes nice background music but it doesn't stand out either.

As I work I'd like the background to be not terribly intrusive, calming yet upbeat and alive. My art is heavily influenced by my surroundings, and the creativity really is allowed to flow when I'm not pulled apart in so many directions by distraction. When I'm deep in thought I don't want the music to intrude, but to carry my thoughts along. Alison Brown Quartet's "Out of the Blue" is EXACTLY what I want. It's all brilliantly played, as beautiful as background as it is turned up for meditative reflection, and cohesive both in its construction as an album as well as a medium by which I can collect my own thoughts and introspection.

It's not bland, yet it's not setting anything on fire. Clean and perfectly executed, I'd wish it on in my studio, at a restaurant, gallery or any other environment where sophistication and casual elegance is "in the air." It's absolutely jazz; not the quirky and attention demanding Flecktone type, but more 'conversational,' for lack of a better word. Where the Flecktones have an overpowering flavor, this album is more nuanced and don't overpower.

For everyday ambiance, this album is as good as it gets.

This album is very pleasant to listen to, and it's subtleties emerge the more I listen to it. I definitely recommend it.

Bela Fleck Lite.

It is interesting to hear the Latin influence in her music, but much of the album sounds sounds like a regular old guitar. Good but perhaps not what the bajo enthusiast is looking for. Brown's album is a pleasant listen, but if you are really looking for free flowing jazz with a banjo twist, (and who isn't!) then check out Bela.