John Raymond calls his latest band ‘Real Feels’ and it’s also the name of his latest record, due out February 12, 2016 from Shifting Paradigm Records. This trumpeter and and band leader put together a nice little trio with guitarist Gilad Hekselman and drummer Colin Stranahan, two of the best up-and-coming practitioners of their respective instruments. That’s certainly a solid plan for getting that Real Feel.
And the album follows through on the promise. A collection of sturdy old tunes hearkening back from the early 1800s (“Amazing Grace”) to Thom Yorke’s “Atoms For Peace” from his electronica-drenched The Eraser from a decade ago, the common thread from these disparate songs come are sharply definable melodies. Raymond, on the fuller-toned flugelhorn, fully capitalizes on that instrument to bring out those fetching strains, as Hekselman and Stranahan are more than diverse and creative enough to fill in whatever spaces Raymond leaves for them.
This is jazz, yes, but jazz with a very open mind. Raymond, Hekselman and Stranahan make something new and lively from every one of these old songs. The festive Nola vibe they put into “I’ll Fly Away” or the organic pulse that approximates Yorke’s computerized one for his song are a couple examples of how just these three can do so much with so little.
Real Feels is really worth checking out.
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