Here we have the latest album from pianist Carol Albert, following from 2017’s ‘Fly Away Butterfly’. That album had been written and recorded in the period following the sudden death of her husband, and this is one where she feels she had made progress and has learned to experience joy, laughter, happiness and love, as well as the moods of solitude and introspection. This is soft jazz, smooth jazz, from a woman who has a wonderfully delicate approach to the piano. All ten songs are original, and she even brings in some Latin flavours here and there. The issue for me is that it was recorded digitally, in that Albert created the base tracks and then sent them away to have additional musicianship added to it, and the result is something which just does not sound quite right.
There are too many times when it feels false, that the elements don’t quite fit together, and to me that is a real shame. She has a real talent and I would much rather hear an album of her as the leader of a quartet or quintet and performing live. I am sure she would be very different there than this, as while this is a good album to play as background music, it is rarely more than that. There is no place in the world for programmed drums, certainly not in jazz.
Rating: 6/10
