KELLY GREEN SEEMS

March 16, 2024

KELLY GREEN

SEEMS

Green Soul Studios

Kelly Green, piano/vocals/composer/arranger; Luca Soul Rosenfeld, bass; Evan Hyde, drums; Elijah J. Thomas, flute/alto flute/piccolo. SPECIAL GUEST: Rich Perry, tenor saxophone.

For Kelly Green, her album titled “Seems” is meant to be a recorded statement of hope and an optimistic musical manifesto. She has composed five of the nine songs on this album. The production opens with a song called “Down that Road” that features Elijah J. Thomas on flute. Evan Hyde provides percussive links between musical phrases, showing off his drum skills. When Kelly Green steps into the picture with her dynamic piano solo, she brings modern jazz to the forefront of this arrangement.

On Track #2, Luca Soul Rosenfeld opens the song “World of My own” with just bass. Then Green’s vocals enter for a few bars. She displays her light soprano voice in stark contrast to Rosenfeld’s deep bass tones. After the first instrumental tune, (Track #2) takes me by surprise, because it’s more pop jazz than modern. It introduces me to the light, airy voice of the pianist. The talented, iconic Babs Gonzalez wrote “Lonely One” and once again, Green’s music takes a one-hundred-degree turn. Now she embraces Straight-ahead jazz. The prolific Gonzalez lends his great lyrics to Kelly Green’s interpretation. Next, drums introduce Green’s original composition called “Street Cleaning” and sweep us back to a more traditional jazz genre with horn punches and straight-ahead speed. Green’s piano jumps into the up-tempo piece with both hands racing. Special guest, Rich Perry takes an exploratory tenor saxophone solo, improvising fluidly. Rosenfeld is prominent throughout on bass.

Then comes a blues titled, “By the Way,” another original tune penned by Kelly that features a dancing bass solo. It’s a melodic blues that shows us a completely different side of Kelly Green’s piano style, pushed powerfully by the walking bass of Rosenfeld. I am intrigued by her song “Rich’s Stiches” and would love to know the story behind it. Who is Rich? What caused him to get stiches, I wonder? Her live performance of this song at Dizzy’s Jazz Club in New York grandly displays her composing capabilities and celebrates her bandmembers.

On their final tune, “Try Your Wings” Green’s light, little-girl-voice, tinged with a hint of innocence in her tone, takes center stage. She closes with a suggestion of positivity and a proclamation of faith. This is a multi-faceted creative project that showcases Kelly Green’s composing skills and diversity on both the piano and voice. Street release date is March 29, 2024.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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