Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Airborne - Turbulence CD - Review - Jazz Review

Airborne’s fifth album, Turbulence meets all your expectations of what you imagine an eminent jazz album would be like. The songs are symbolic of contemporary jazz, progressive jazz, and the alluring smooth jazz. Produced by band members Greg Borino (electric/acoustic guitars), Thomas Borino (piano/keyboards/vocals), and Thomas Sansone (saxophone/flute/vocals), the album is made up of a 6-part instrumental unit and one part female vocals furnished by Lady Elizabeth Dellinger.

The songs take the listener from a balmy R&B idling to contemporary swing and club jazz proportions. Rounding out the 6-part instrumental are Dean Kosh (drums), Asher Delerme (African/Latin percussion), and Steven Clark (bass). The band employed a number of additional musicians for Turbulence which surprisingly does not add clutter to the tracks. Moreover, these additional musicians came in as needed to add sunspots of trills and flounce that tickle the melodies with a wider array of hues and party atmospheres.

Tracks like “Festival At Sunset” and “As We Journey” propel a Latin-jazz samba ruffling up the rhythms with alcoves of animated horns. The rotating cycles revolve around the springy vocals in a pleasurable spin. The R&B/Soul tides on numbers like “Smooth Sailing” and “Can’t Fight Love” are intoxicating as Dellinger’s sensuality and magnetism on “Can’t Fight Love” resonates with a Regina Bell vocal shower.

The citrus-sweetness of the flute swirls on “Native Search” are symphonic and tranquilizing while
Hillside Swing” has ringlets of elevating guitar intervals and swing-laden horns. “Drums Of Peace/Awakening” turns into waves of smooth jazz horns embellished with African textured beats, rippling hand shakers, and syncopated vocal chants. “What About Love” has a touch of cocktail-jazz in its R&B voicing illuminated by Dellinger’s singing, as the sinuous grooves and honeyed tones of “The Message” stoke the embers of the sonically romantic flames.

Though Turbulence has only 9-tracks on it, the average length of the songs is 6-minutes which is double what most 11-track albums offers in there songs. Airborne have produced an album that is a portrait of jazz music’s charms and supple movements making music that is idealistic and proofed for party mixers.

Airborne’s Turbulence gives jazz music a very good feel.

Susan Frances - Jazz Review

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