FINK
Distance and Time
Rating: 3
Sound: 4
Fink (the name of both the man and his band) plays an earnest acoustic guitar-bass-drums brand of music that is soulful and satisfying. The guitar is textured and the drums are spot-on. Fink's vocal delivery is droll, but with an undercurrent of painful emotion. This creates an overall effect that distracts from the fact that Fink's melodies are pretty, but often boring. The sonics are spare and excellent. Each instrument sounds nearly live. "Distance and Time" impresses with clear subtleties like the sound of a closing high hat cutting through the rest of the music to end phrases in "This is the Time."
Eliane Elias
Eliane Elias Sings and Plays Bill Evans
Blue Note
Rating: 3.5
Sound: 4
No song on Eliane Elias' oeuvre of Bill Evans' music is over five minutes long. That allows her to get deep into the Evans repertoire and truly celebrate his writing and playing. Her playing adds a distinct lightness and virtuosity to a variety of Evans' standards as well as some unreleased material. That material was unearthed by her husband Marc Johnson, who was the last bassist to play with Evans. Elias is a great piano talent and a decent vocal talent. Excellent instrumentals like "I Love My Wife" are the heart of the album, but a few of the vocal numbers are so-so. The recording is rich and lovely, with deep upright bass and tight drums to go along with the detailed piano work. Soundstage and dynamics are a bit lacking, but the album has a pleasant overall sound.
RBX
Broken Silence
Technicali
Rating: 3
Sound: 3
If aliens visited and asked what a sportscaster's voice sounds like, bring them Marv Albert. For rappers, bring them RBX and his mean burred baritone. RBX's flow is educated gangsta, with lyrics stretching from Long Beach, CA, to Fallujah. What he lacks in intense rhythmic style, RBX makes up for in hard-hitting charisma. Production is hit or miss. The album starts out slow but "Stop That," which makes excellent use of a chamber music loop, highlights a strong middle. Sound is just above average for a hip-hop album, with good detail and over-emphasized midbass.
Caribbean Jazz Project-Afro Bop Alliance Featuring Dave Samuels
Caribbean Jazz Project-AfroBop Alliance
Heads Up
Rating: 3.5
Sound: 4
Q: What do you get when you combine the Caribbean Jazz Project and the Afro Bop Alliance? A: A band with a name reminiscent of the grandchild of four hippies. You also get 15 dudes making a bunch of music. The album is mostly re-orchestrated old stuff from vibe ace Dave Samuels and his Latin jazz crew. The added horns are sometimes great and sometimes feel tacked on. The big band shines on funky Latin reinterpretations of post-bop classics "Naima" and "Bemsha Swing." There's a lot going on and it is reproduced faithfully with nice clarity and soundstage. If your system makes the sweet-sounding vibes and steel pan drums here sound tinny or bracing, it's time to upgrade.