Steve Sieck CRAZY THAT WAY
STEVE SIECK
CRAZY THAT WAY
Accordant Music
Steve Sieck, lead vocals/composer; Dori Amarilio, producer/guitar; Mitchel Forman, keyboards; Rene Camacho & Kevin Axt, bass; Gene Coye, Ray Brinker, Kendall Kay & Chris Bailey, drums; Alex Budman, woodwinds; Dave Richards & Jeff Kaye, trumpet; Eric Jorgensen, trombone; Tawanda Suessbrich-Joaquim, Mark Winkler, Nicolas Bearde & Sidney Jacobs, lead vocals; The Perri Sisters, background vocals.
The birth of a grandchild influenced Steve Sieck to transplant from New York City to Los Angeles in 2021. He brought his songwriting expertise with him and began hobnobbing with other creative songwriters and Southern California vocalists like Mark Winkler, Tawanda Suessbrich-Joaquim, Nicolas Bearde, Sidney Jacobs and the Perri Sisters. Once he met producer, arranger, and guitarist, Dori Amarilio, the pieces of his musical puzzle fell into perfect place. Amarilio has done a beautiful job of producing this album.
Steve Sieck opens this album of original songs with the lilting Brazilian influenced tune called “The Mystery of Love.” What a great song, both melodically and lyrically. This is followed by Sieck singing his humorous title tune “Crazy That Way.” The horn parts skip happily and harmonically above the chord changes before Sieck’s vocal enters. He’s quite a storyteller offering lyrics that are relatable. Sieck has a pleasant, songwriting style of singing, exhibiting a good vocal range. He’s no Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett, but he enunciates each and every word during this project, connecting emotionally, while exploring the various sides of love. Steve Sieck is believable. Each song sparkles like a multi-faceted diamond, displaying his original song composing excellence, either sung by himself or with the support of a handful of talented Los Angeles vocalists. Sieck’s music is mostly jazz, but there are a few tunes that cross into the Pop Lane like “We Will Find A Way.”
His melody and lyrics on “Only Human” is another Latin-flavored, jazzy favorite of mine. His presentation is honest, with a lovely melody. Throughout, the guitar of Dori Amarilio supports and beautifully colors Sieck’s music.
We go into a Tower of Power type production on “Temple of Soul” embracing an R&B, Earth, Wind & Fire groove. Steve Sieck lets us know that he writes every kind of music. I prefer his Latin-flavored jazz tunes. Adding pop and R&B to his mix makes this album become more of a songwriter’s demo presentation than an album of jazz. That being said, using familiar Coltrane-type chords, he offered his own lyrical protest during a tune he recorded several years back called “21st Century Blues.” Clearly, he can write solid jazz and blues compositions.
His current album continues Steve Sieck’s legacy of smart lyrics, comfortable, creative melodies, social messages, and tongue-in-cheek humor.
Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil
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