San Gabriel 7 w/ Sinne Eeg

Under the Stars

JRL-SGS

We covered the progressive California-based funk band San Gabriel 7 for their 2020 release, Red Dress, with vocalist Femi Knight. Now, the band returns with the preeminent vocalist of Scandinavia, Sinne Eeg, in an album of her songs with, as before, mostly the instrumental arrangements of Dave Cushman. Eeg, with her vocal and songwriting skills is a draw just by herself as is this powerful ensemble. Together, they are a formidable combination. Bandleader and trombonist Jim Lewis remains at the helm with these players – Chad Edwards (keyboards and B3), Chris Gordon (piano and producer) Steve Gregory (guitar), Jonathan Pintoff (bass), Randy Drake (drums)and Scott Breadman (percussion). Joining Lewis in the horn section are trumpeter/flugelhornist Jeff Jarvis, trumpeter Kye Palmer, tuba player Dave Holben (only on “Hymn”), and woodwind players Glen Berger and Alex Budman. Background vocalists Andrea Miller, Fletcher Sheridan, and Trist Curless appear on two tracks.

The band has a prolific history of backing singers in compositions chosen by the vocalist. Their catalog includes the 2012 Lost My Heart with Ingrid James (2012), Time to Stay with Andrea Miller (2020), and Sneakin’ Up on Love with Katie Campbell (2021) in addition to the aforementioned with Femi Knight. Eeg arguably represents the biggest star of this group, having won the Best Danish Vocal Album of the Year four times not to mention other prestigious awards in both France and Denmark.

Eeg’s diverse styles of writing gives ample space for soloists to strut forth with concise, spirited statements as we hear on the hard swinging opener “Rocket Blues,” where she delivers wordless vocals, as if just another voice in the horn section. Quickly she eases into the smooth, romantic kinds of songs that have built her reputation with the conventional, uplifting jazz waltz “I’m in Mood for Love.” Drake’s infectious rhythms lead into the story song, “The Barista,” about having a crush on a guy who makes coffee, sharply punctuated with jabs of horns and wrapped in colorful textures with flutes and solos from trumpeter Palmer and Berger on soprano and Bugman on alto. Eeg gets dreamy, soaring in the title track, contemporary bossa nova with a Nordic flair as the band supports in a big band-like arrangement.

“Getting Along with Love” is a dance number, and like the previous features the background vocalists. The upbeat feel continues with the celebratory, percussion-laced Brazilian “The Festival,” as Eeg layers in backgrounds to her lead vocal as trumpeter Palmer and flutist Berger deliver spirited statements. The style takes yet another turn with the R&B/gospel “What About Love,” with Edwards’ B3 and Gregory’s guitar becoming more prominent than on previous tracks. Certainly, this kind of outing calls for a ballad and Eeg follows with two of them, the straight-forward “I’m Feeling Good,” featuring Bugman on clarinet and “Never Let You Go,” which is in 12/8 time with an old time feel, with Berger taking the lead on alto in the vocal break. For symmetry Eeg ends the program with another wordless vocal on “Hymn,” which features just the horns and no rhythm instruments. The bottom becomes especially robust with the addition of Holben’s tuba. Palmer again takes the lead, this time on flugelhorn.

As previously stated, Sinne Eeg and The San Gabriel 7 is an unbeatable combination. Vocal jazz does not get any better than this.

• Jim Hynes

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