Trombonist and composer Naomi Moon Siegel chose to make her second album a live album, the mark of someone confident in her abilities as a stage performer and Live at Earshot justifies that confidence. The whole set was recorded during Seattle’s Earshot Jazz Festival in 2017. Siegel resides in Montana nowadays but came back to her old stomping grounds to make music in familiar surroundings.
Siegel’s membership in the electro-acoustic out-jazz duo Syrinx Effect proves her bonafides as a cutting edge artist but she’s further proved it through associations with open-minded luminaries such as Allison Miller, Jessica Lurie, Julian Priester, Matthew Golombisky and many more.
Live at Earshot drops on May 17, 2019 from Slow & Steady Records. It’s mostly delicate and contemplative, probably a good match for her new Big Sky environs. Her compositions are a just-right balance of indie rock, folk and Frisell-styled Americana all enwrapped in that vague sobriquet ‘jazz.’ Joining Siegel for the show was Wayne Horvitz (piano), Sean Woolstenhulme (guitar), Geoff Harper (bass) and Eric Eagle (drums).
“Jaam Rek,” debuting in the video above, is a little bit different from the other songs. Percussionist Thione Diop sits in for this tune co-written by him with Siegel at the Seattle music venue for which this song is named (and no longer exists). A breezy, mildly Caribbean flavor pervades, even when the tempo accelerates after the opening segment. Siegel’s funky aside during which Woolstenhulme, Horvitz and Harper lay out is arguably the high point of a galvanized performance.
Stream a couple of tracks from Live at Earshot here:
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