Two-time Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner singer/pianist Maggie Herron — Jazz Album of the Year 2015, 2017 — is back. She writes in the liner notes that the album “was born during a year of flu, a broken arm and a natural lowering of my vocal range,” and opens with the title song. It describes the experience of having “a ton of trouble in a half-ton truck” with an irresistible big band arrangement.
It isn’t all doom, gloom and the blues. Herron changes the mood first with a sassy tale of a man who really isn’t a “Perfect Specimen” and follows it with a musical buffet of jazz, pop and novelty songs.
“A TON OF TROUBLE”
Maggie Herron (Herron Song)
Most are originals. A song titled “There is Love” delivers an uplifting message of hope; “Monkishness,” an instrumental for three with Dean Taba (bass) and Jake Reed (drums), adds a solid piece of jazz to the collection.
Herron also does nicely with remakes of Leonard Cohen’s 1984 album track, “Dance Me To The End Of Love,” and the Beatles’ introspective album track, “In My Life,” where Herron sings and Taba (bass) and Larry Koonse (guitar) provide instrumental support.
The Beatles song closes the album on an optimistic note that should buoy even those riding in an overloaded truck.
Visit maggieherron.com.
Waipahu-born Abe Lagrimas Jr., currently calls Los Angeles home but records for a record label in his old hometown.
The late Lyle Ritz showed jazz audiences in the 1950s that the ukulele can work well as a jazz instrument. Lagrimas also does so here. He demonstrates his command of the drums and the vibes as well.
“ABE LAGRIMAS, JR.”
Abe Lagrimas, Jr. (Pass Out Records)
Modern studio technology allows musicians to play accompaniment for themselves, and Lagrimas does that on several songs while four studio guests play additional instruments; drums and bass are the primary add-ons, piano and sax are heard less frequently (A guest vibes player sits in on another).
The various combinations of instruments make the album more diverse than it would if the same line up was used on every song.
Ukulele fans will enjoy Lagrimas’ work as solo artist on a song titled “End of the Road.” The ukulele shares the spotlight with other instruments on several other songs — “Sunday Dance” and “Tanimoto” most notably. Lagrimas omits it entirely elsewhere — perhaps playing for audiences whose tastes in jazz are more traditional.
“Nu‘uanu Mist,” where piano and vibes partner with drums and bass, is a beautiful example of the latter.
With Lagrimas’ self-titled album following the recent release of an album by Michael Paulo, another expatriate islander, 2018 is looking like a great year for instrumental jazz with ties to Hawaii.
Visit passoutrecords.com.
