(Modern Creative, Contemporary Jazz) Jessica Lurie Ensemble - Shop Of Wild Dreams - 2009, MP3, V2

Jessica Lurie-alto and tenor saxophone, flute, accordion, baritone ukelele, voice
Erik Deutsch-piano, electric keyboard, Rhodes
Brandon Seabrook-guitar, banjo, tape recorder
Todd Sickafoose-acoustic bass
Allison MIller-drums
Elizabeth Pupo-Walker-percussion
Tina Richerson-baritone saxophone

"Jessica Lurie came to many people's attention through the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, an energetic group from Seattle named for the circa '50s saxophonist better known for living and passing as a man than for her music. Their first release Saxhouse, (1993, Knitting Factory Records) seemed radical not just for the group's name but for being an all-female horn band, something still rare to see 16 years later.
Lurie and Amy Denio, the two principles of the quartet, have kept the band going (with some changes in membership) fairly steadily, while taking on an impressive variety of projects outside the band. Lurie has pushed herself as an improvising instrumentalist as well as blurring the lines between her jazz and pop interests. And on Shop of Wild Dreams she presents a wide variety of musical ideas while managing to create a seamless hour of listening.
Lurie herself plays saxophones, flute, accordion, ukulele and sings on the album, already suggesting a diversity of intentions. And her quintet moves easily through cinematic jazz, gypsy inflection, vocal songs and the occasional light instrumental. Particularly effective is Brandon Seabrook, whose guitar and banjo can fit quietly into the background only to turn to surprising drive. The rhythm section (Erik Deutsch on piano and keyboards, Todd Sickafoose on bass and Allison Miller on drums) proves to be effective and flexible, but it is Lurie in the foreground most of the time. (Tipton saxophonist Tina Richerson and former Tipton drummer Elizabeth Pupo-Walker also make appearances.)
But despite a strong band, more impressive is the way Lurie as bandleader crafts the whole. Her songs, in other hands, could come off as something between Sarah Brightman and Joni Mitchell jazz, but interspersed across the disc and with her warm voice and intelligent lyrics, they gain a bit more weight. [...]"-Kurt Gottschalk, All About Jazz
Label: Zipa!Music
Catalog ID: lurieDreams
Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2009
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardstock foldover
Recorded by Marc Urselli at Eastside Sound, New York.