Tessa Souter Offers Some Enchanting Music from French Composer Erik Satie and More on "Shadows and Silence"

 

Tessa Souter-Shadows and Silence- The Erik Satie Project-NOANARA

The chanteuse Tessa Souter released her latest album Shadows and Silence- The Erik Satie Project on the NOANARA label on July 1, 2025. Having been a follower and fan of this stylistic vocalist, this may be the best of her releases to date.

Souter’s theme is the artistry of the classical composer/pianist Erik Satie, whose eccentric and minimalist approach to western music may have been an inspiration to the subsequent modal jazz and ambient music trends. Despite the influence to jazz and ambient genres, there is a great deal of classical, albeit modern, influence on this record.

Souter has the soul of a lyricist, and it is on display in spades on this album. She takes several songs from Satie-Gymnopedic No 1, No 2, Vexations, and No 3, Gnossienne No 1, No 2, and No 3- and retitles them with lyrics. She pens lyrics about love, loss, transience, fluidity, beauty and the futility of thinking you can capture the ever-changing present, and peace. This thoughtful compilation shows respect for the music of an artist whose work was so influential. My first exposure was back in the early seventies, when I fell in love with the Blood, Sweat, & Tears version of their Variations on Theme 1^st and 2^nd movements from Gymnopedic No 1, as arranged by multi-instrumentalist Dick Halligan and recorded by the jazz/rock band back in 1968.

On Souter’s version of this composition, she renames this lyric version “Rayga’s Song,” in dedication to the birth of bassist Yasushi Nakamura’s son, which happened during a snowfall. She is accompanied by Luis Perdomo’s delicate piano work and Steve Wilson’s soaring soprano saxophone. Bassist Nakamura’s plucky bass solo offers his own poignant comment. Souter’s lyrics and her sincere voice bring the element of hopeful love, to this piece that revels in the promise of a new life into this otherwise haunting piece.

Satie’s Gnossienne No1 was retitled with lyrics as Souter’s “A Song for You” (not to be confused by the Leon Russell song by the same name). On this one Souter tells the story of a disguised lover who hides his true intention and the effects it had on his befallen lover. Drummer Billy Drummond’s beat is hypnotic, Perdomo’s piano is splendid and Nakamura’s bass throbs like a beating heart.

Souter even knits in a song that recalls a Paul Gaugin painting of the same name “Du’O Venons-Nous” based on Satie’s Gymnopedic No3, which has some nice arco work by Nakamura and some airy soprano work by Wilson.

Clearly Souter’s exposure to Satie has been more studious and rigorous then mine. But this is not exclusively a Satie album. Souter finds other excellent pieces that seem to thematically weave into the fabric of this project seamlessly.  The Edith Piaf-inspired “Avec le Temps,” a Leo Ferre composition that Souter sings in French, with both emotion and verve, accompanied by Nakamura’s excellent bow and Perdomo’s crystalline piano.

Souter includes a Rod McKuen song, inspired by Jacques Brel titled “If You Go Away.” She does as an intimate duo with Perdomo in the intro before she kicks it up a notch for a moment with her vocal energy as she injects a cabaret feel. She follows with a her singing in French for a section before the trio takes the music to another level leading to Souter returning to the intimacy at the coda.

Jazzers should appreciate the song “Never Broken (ESP)” a collaboration written by vocalist Cassandra Wilson and saxophone/composer, legend Wayne Shorter. Souter is at her most fluid here. The trio percolates with Perdomo getting off on the zigzagging lines he introduces, as Nakamura and Drummond lock in like a fine-tuned timepiece, with Drummond getting a little freedom to offer some nice drum centric features on this one.

Perhaps one of my favorites is bassist Ron Carter’s “Mood,” which Souter’s worded version is called “Musica Universalis.” Instrumentally, this one includes a mesmeric metronomic beat that is laid down by Nakamura and Drummond, before Perdomo adds his own leading piano lines. The real tonal treat comes from Australian born New York-based Nadje Noordhuis’s moody muted trumpet lines as they interweave with Wilson’s sinewy soprano work, that at times almost sounds like a flute. The two show a great deal of magic and symbiosis when playing together. Souter’s vocal spells out the enchanting lyrics “Mood is a feather, just floating wherever, like change in the weather, all clouds in the sky’… “Now waits for no man, it’s gone in a moment, Belonging to no one.”  The lyrics nailing the transience, the fluidity, the beauty and the futility of never being able to keep things more than in the moment. 

Tessa Souter's Shadows and Silence- The Erik Satie Project is a splendid album that you will find yourself revisiting many times. 

The Magic of Richard Rodgers in the Hands of Denny Zeitlin on "With A Song in My Heart"

Denny Zeitlin- Exploring the Music of Richard Rodgers- With a Song in My Heart- Sunnyside

It's hard for me to get my head around how long it has been since I first heard  pianist Denny Zeitlin play live. It was November of 2001 when I had the privilege of catching him and his trio at the wonderful, but sadly now defunct, Kitano jazz club in the Kitano hotel off of Park Avenue in NYC. His playing was simply sublime, and his bandmates - the stalwart bassist Buster Williams and the effervescent drummer Matt Wilson- rose to the occasion with empathetic energy and joy.  Zeitlin's sensitivity and inventiveness made a lasting impression on me, and I continued to follow, look forward, and at times write about his subsequent releases.

Denny Zeitlin, Buster Williams and Matt Wilson at The Kitano November  2001

Earlier in the year of this performance, Zeitlin had released his spectacular solo album Labyrinth on Sunnyside Records, in the month of June. Solo piano albums have a special meaning to Zeitlin. He once said “Solo piano performance takes me back to my earliest roots, and allows for perhaps the most intensely personal musical statement.” While this was certainly his sentiment then, these days, at the age of eighty-seven, it is probably even more intensely true  today. His playing and creativity has certainly continued to wow, inspire and entertain over the passing years. This musical artist has always maintained a dual vocation as both a musician and as a clinical professor of psychiatry at University of California at San Francisco and in his private practice. This never kept him from still performing and recording. It started with his first release Cathexis, when he was first signed to Columbia Records by producing legend John Hammond in 1963. 

Zeitlin was born in Chicago, Illinois and relocated to the west coast in 1964 where he has resided in the San Francisco and the Marin county area ever since. Maintaining these two successful professions concurrently for close to sixty years reveal an enormous amount of the vitality, creativity and dedication that this man has maintained throughout his life. Some might call him a Renaissance Man of sorts, and just looking at his prolific recording history that might not be far from the truth.

Zeitlin's latest solo album Exploring The Music of Richard Rodgers-With a Song In My Heart , was released on June 6th of this year. It is his thirty-eighth recording and his sixteenth with Sunnyside Records. 

Listening to a Zeitlin album, especially his solo offerings, is always a challenge to write about. Words alone do not do  justice to the experience of being submerged while listening to the musical cornucopia that comes out of this artist's fertile mind. Perhaps the closest  metaphor I can come up with is to compare Zeitlin to a gourmet chef. He prepares each performance like a feast. He sets the table of the listener carefully, exploring musical themes-in this case the music of Richard Rodgers-one of the most important and successful composers of the twentieth century. He deconstructs familiar or sometimes not so familiar compositions. He extracts the essence and finds meaningful motifs that he can emphasis and embellish. He layers ideas, modulates the tonal possibilities, and exploits rhythmic changes to great effect. Like a skilled chef with his battery of seasonings, Zeitlin reinvents the mundane, magically reharmonizing the familiar into something that emerges as new and fresh.

Denny Zeitlin (photo credit unknown)

Zeitlin has travelled this path many times before. Previously he has done deep dives into the music of Wayne Shorter on his Early Wayne from 2014. In 2015, Zeitlin did a video of his Piedmont Piano concert Exploring Thelonious Monk. He followed that with his exploration of the music of Miles Davis on his Remembering Miles from 2016, not to mention his studies of the music of Gershwin and Strayhorn.

In each case, Zeitlin explore the composer's canon of music and rethinks it in his own mystical way. His artistry comes from his thorough familiarity with the material he presents and finding ways to see them and preform them in his own unique way. Zeitlin, was first exposed as a youth to Richard Rodgers music from hearing the music from the 1943 Broadway show Oklahoma!  

On The Music of Richard Rodgers-With a Song In My Heart, Zeitlin has mined twelve compositions from the Rodgers treasure chest, many unfamiliar. Half of this music was recorded in front an audience at the Piedmont Piano concert on December 13, 2019, with the remainder of the selections being recorded in a studio in November and December of the same year. 

The earliest composition on this album is the title track "With a Song in My Heart" that was first heard in the musical Spring Is Here 1929. Zeitlin takes this song, with it's noted feel of a love at first sight romance, and once delivered by Ella Fitzgerald in 1956, and plays it with conviction and sensitivity. 

The opener, "Falling in Love With You," another show song from The Boys from Syracuse from 1938, has been covered by artists as disparate as Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews and The Supremes! Zeitlin explores the lost love theme by opening the music with his own exploratory intro. His touch can be light or majestic and his subtle change of tone and attack explores all the emotions from chagrin to soaring hope. He explores multiple rhythmic changes that raise the temperature and accelerate the heart beat. Just a wonderful capture of this man in the "flow" and the audience responds accordingly.

"I Don't Know What Time It Was"  from the musical Too Many Girls of 1938 vintage has been covered by Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Betty Carter and Cassandra Wilson, not to mention instrumentally by Charlie Parker and Brad Mehldau. Because the composition doesn't have a tonal center, but modulates between keys, it makes the song feel more mysterious. Zeitlin raises the bar by playing in a 7/4 time signature that adds yet another element to his interpretation of this classic. He alternates the pace and adds interest in his interesting harmonizing with his left hand. You can't help but marvel at the man's unpredictable ideas that he often comes up with on he fly. If you thought you knew this song, then you will find yourself surprised at how far out he can expand the paths that can be traveled within a composition.

"He Was Too Good To Me" is a Rodgers composition that was written  for a Broadway show in 1930, Simple Simon, and was somehow never used in the show. No worries, the moving ballad attracted it's own astute followers that took it as their own. Vocalists Natalie Cole and Chris Connor, as well as jazz artists from Chet Baker, Thad Jones and Shirley Horn all found this composition fertile ground. Zeitlin gets his turn exploring the themes of loss, grief and sorrow in his own inimitable way. His notes sometimes feel like they suspend themselves in the air on command. His tender touch is moving and draws you into the pathos of a lover's loss with empathy and warmth.

The album continues with the obscure "Johnny One Note"  from Babes in Arms, a 1937 show that depicts tale of an opera singer who could only sing one note. Despite his limitation, he would sing with such overpowering fervor that he was always upstaging his fellow cast members. Zeitlin plays a somewhat boisterous samba here. He simulates the opera singers audacious gusto. His left hand maintains the frantic buzz as his right hand explores the keyboard to its limits.

Zeitlin includes two compositions "Wait Till You See Her" and "Ev' rything I've Got" from the 1942 show By Jupiter, that featured Ray Bolger, who later became famous as the Scarecrow in movie The Wizard of Oz. 

"Wait Till You See Her" finds Zeitlin in his delicate ballad mode and in "Ev'rything I've Got," Zeitlin's rhythmic acuity and creativity is on display. He lights up the room with ascending and descending flights that pulls all the possibilities out of this song. He also delves into the piano body including string plucking and manipulating that adds a whole new dimension. 

In the studio portion of the album, Zeitlin draws on two compositions from South Pacific, the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein 1949 Broadway show and later the equally famous 1958 film that brought this music to another generation. The musical was based on the Tales of the South Pacific, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by James Michener. The emotionally filled ballad "This Nearly Was Mine" was once made famous by Frank Sinatra. Zeitlin choses to use a 5/4 time signature on this version and his deft touch and gorgeous harmonic choices make this lament of love and loss pure magic. 

The comedy show I'd Rather Be Right from 1937 gave us the jazz standard "Have You Met Miss Jones." This gem has been a vehicle of expression since it's origin and been interpreted by such impressive artists as Art Tatum, Stan Getz, and Ahmad Jamal, as well as vocalists Anita O' Day, Tony Bennett and Mel Tormé. The chord modulations are said to have been precursors to what is known as Coltrane changes as used in his Giant Steps. With this imprimatur from a legion of jazz greats, its is no wonder why Zeitlin has chosen to take his turn at reimagining this classic. He doesn't disappoint. The pianist uses motifs that he expands upon and his facility across the keyboard continues to demonstrate a command that is only limited by his seemingly bottomless well of imagination.

Exploring the Music of Richard Rodgers- With a Song in My Heart- is a pure delight. Zeitlin continues to prove that the American songbook can still be a plentiful treasure trove of beauty and inspiration, and he defies the claim that it has become a worn out resource. When the canon is examined and played by a true piano master like Zeitlin, one who has never shied away from challenge, the sky can be the limit.

A Significant Guitarist of Our Era, Pasquale Grasso Offers "Fervency"

Pasquale Grasso: Fervency- Sony Masterworks

Guitar master Pasquale Grasso released his new trio album Fervency February 7, 2025 on Sony Masterworks. It is no wonder how this man is continuing to excite and wow an increasingly larger band of followers for the depth and artistry of this important musician. 

Grasso is an Italian born in Ariano Irpino, a hillside town in the Campania region of Italy. This area of southern Italy is about 132 miles northwest of where my mother and her family once immigrated. With this common regional heritage in my blood, there is no doubt I have a sense of personal pride in discovering such a talented artist that comes from this area. 

Grasso has been honing his skills since the age of five. He has tremendous facility and control over his instrument, but he also carries within him a deep respect for the tradition. He sites pianists like Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Elmo Hope among his influences and was mentored by Barry Harris since the pianist caught him playing in Italy in 1998 and took him under his wing. Be Bop is in his man's veins. Early in his career, Grasso was a student of guitarist Agostino Di Giorgio, an American expat who taught him methods of guitar great Chuck Wayne, who was Di Giorgio's one time teacher.

Looking to expand his technique, Grasso also took classical guitar lessons at the Conservatory of Bologna, under the tutelage of guitarist Walter Zanetti. It is no wonder that  when Grasso moved to New York, the guitar ace Pat Metheny invited the fellow guitarist to jam with him at his own NY apartment, and has become both a mentor and fan. In a 2016 interview published in Vintage Guitar, Metheny recognized Grasso for the talent that he was. "He (Grasso) has somehow captured the essence of that language from piano onto guitar in a way that almost nobody has ever addressed. He’s the most significant new guy I’ve heard in many, many years.” 

Grasso's influences, life connections, along with his inherent abilities, have all been part of the impressive maturation of this young man's playing and style. Based in New York City since 2012, Grasso used his frequent appearances at Greenwich Village haunt Mezzrow to experiment with his approaches to some of the canon's less-well-known classics and develop his own set materials. He has released well-received albums that covered the music of Bud Powell (Solo Bud Powell-2020), Duke Ellington (Pasquale Plays Duke 2021- with young chanteuse Samara Joy and veteran be-bop storyteller Sheila Jordan contributing), Charlie Parker (Be Bop 2022), Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk.

On Fervency, now thirty-six year old Grasso, is joined by two very accomplished colleagues whom he has worked with for fifteen years, the bassist Ari Roland and the drummer Keith Balla. These guys navigate some obscure and some better known compositions on the album with finesse and skill. Grasso has shown his preference for mining the canon of be-bop music more deeply. He reimagines compositions that others may have left unexplored and he thinks like a pianist. On this album, Grasso has widened the spread of his casting net and brought in some real interesting, often less treaded jewels that are sure to please.

Grasso leads off with one of his idols, pianist Bud Powell, and his blazing "Sub City."  This one features some tight, quick-paced and swinging guitar work by Grasso, a rousing arc bass solo by the impressive Ari Roland, and some Keith Balla brushwork that recalls the exquisite brush mastery of Jeff Hamilton. These guys know how to cook.  

  

Pasquale Grasso, Ari Roland, Keith Balla (photo credit unknown)

The trio can set speed records for flawless execution at mind blowing velocity if so inclined, but Grasso is always inventing on the fly. You can hear different gems of harmonic inventiveness on his "A Trip to C.C.," a song dedicated to his girlfriend, Miles Davis "Milestones" ,and Ray Noble's always challenging, off to the races "Cherokee."  His lines are swift, never predictable, and he seems umbilically connected to the bebop tradition while bringing it into a new era of modernization. 

Composer/arranger/pianist Tadd Dameron is a favorite of Grasso, and he chooses three of this master's compositions- "If You Could See Me Now," "Lady Bird" and Jahbero." 

Dameron played the sultry "If You Could See Me Now" with an orchestra and the fabulous vocalist Sarah Vaughan on her  Musiccraft record of 1946. Dameron's "Lady Bird" and "Jahbero" were on the 1957 Blue Note release with the pianist's  Septet. It included the brilliant Fats Navarro on trumpet, the thoughtful tenor of Wardell Gary and Allen Eager, Curley Russell's anchoring bass, Chino Ponzo infectious bongos and Kenny Clarke inimitable trap work. It is interesting to juxtapose these recordings from the composer and see how Grasso reinvents them for his guitar.

If you appreciate a good ballad like Dameron's "If You Could See Me Now," it's Grasso's sumptuous guitar that cascades his lines, spelling out the wordless melody with sublime sensitivity, as Roland's bass adds another resonating arco solo to the mix. There is no orchestra to rely on here as Dameron had at his disposal, but these two don't seem to need one. They find enough tonal color between themselves to make this one sing, even without Sassy Sarah's wonderful voice.

"Lady Bird" is just a swinging joy. Roland walks with authority as Balla pops and snaps on his snare. Grasso's sound on his custom French made Trenier guitar, just hums like a idling Ferrari. His fluid single notes, often complimented by his unerring chordal accompaniment and chronometric timing, is just superb. There is no warm Gray tenor here, or Navarro's bright trumpet adding different colors, as in the Dameron original, but Grasso and company never seem wanting for being under-armed. They bring energy and excitement to this modern classic and you can't help but tap your feet. Grasso always finds new ways to harmonize on the melody with invention and promise. Balla is given a short feature on his traps and Roland offers another of his signature arco solos. Well done guys!

"Jahbero" had the Latinizing rhythmic punch of Ponzo's bongos in the original Dameron release, so I was looking forward to seeing how Grasso would address this. To my surprise, Ballo's inventive trap work fit the bill beautifully. Grasso's imagination found a fountainhead of ideas on which to portray this wonderfully vibrant, still modern feeling composition on his guitar. 

The remainder of the album continues to unearth some surprises, like  mentor Barry Harris's "Focus" and "And So I Love You." Another Miles Davis; composition "Little Willie Leaps," which once featured a historic tenor solo by Charlie Parker, a rare Coleman Hawkins treasure "Bean and the Boys" and a Milt Jackson favorite "Bags Groove." 

Grasso's title cut "Fervency" has a unique genesis. Grasso was traveling home from a gig in NY riding a subway car in the wee hours of the morning when he glanced over to see an open dictionary and was inexplicably drawn to the word he was unfamiliar with, "fervency." The meaning turns out to be "a warmth of feeling or devotion." It seemed to strike Grasso as the perfect word that describes his own feelings toward his love of this music that he has made his life's work. The music opens with another delicious arco treat from Roland's and his  1930's vintage Jurek upright bass. The Julliard trained bassist is certainly a bit of a throwback and he likes the warmth of gut strings to produce his resonant arco sound. Some have likened his arco work to that of the great bassist Paul Chambers. Needless to say, Grasso follows this splendid intro with one of his most emotive performances, as his guitar creates a liquid flow that seems to have no limit to its harmonic variations. Besides being a brilliant single note player, the guitarist adds excellent chordal work that creates another dimension to his playing and it is just pure magic. 

If you have never had an opportunity to listen to Pasquale Grasso, you owe yourself to get Fervency and just revel in this man and his bandmate's beautiful artistry. If you can catch him live at one of his upcoming performances all the better. It's not often we get a chance to see such talent in his prime and in person so  don't hesitate, you won't be disappointed.

A Promising Debut for the Impressive Tyreek McDole "Open Up Your Sense"

Tyreek McDole-Open Up Your Senses Artwork Records

There is a new kid on the block! This twenty-five year old gentleman is certainly not an overnight wonder, as his talent has been validated by his recent success. He was first honored in 2018 at the Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington Competition winning "Outstanding Vocalist." More recently, he captured the admiration of the judges at the 2023 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition, where he became only the second male vocalist to win this prestigious award. The Haitian-American previously from St. Cloud, Florida, now resides in New York. He has earned his degree in jazz performance from The Oberlin Conservatory of Music,  studying with such luminaries as Gary Bartz, Gerald Cannon, Eddie Henderson and Billy Hart.

His debut album Open Up Your Senses was released on June 6, 2025 on the Artwork label. It is perhaps the most promising vocal release I've heard this year.

McDole's band on this album includes contemporaries Caelan Cardello on piano, Dylan Band on saxophone, trumpeter Michael Cruse, guitarists Emmanuel Michael and Logan Butler and Jerome Gillespie II on drums. But McDole is also surrounded by some heavy hitter guests like Kenny Barron and Sullivan Fortner on piano, Rodney Whitaker on bass, and Justin Faulkner on drums. McDole fortuitously manages a cameo appearance by saxophonist Tomoki Sanders, Pharoah's son, who delivers a haunting resurrection of his father's passionate, spiritually inspired saxophone on McDole's reimagination of the Leon Thomas/Pharoah Sanders spiritually inspired  "The Creator Has A Plan."

McDole has a beautiful warm, burnished baritone that some say possess the richness of Johnny Hartman or Nat Cole. But I can also hear the soulfulness of Jon Lucien, the swing of Joe Williams and some of the vibrato touches of a Andy Bey. No matter how you compare this man's approach to the music, you can't deny he has a lot of inherent gifts. 

To continue on the path of becoming a truly successful jazz vocalist, McDole has to absorb the jazz language. He is getting there. That requires listening and studying those masters who have come before him. He has to absorb the art of phrasing, not only of vocalists, but of horn players like Stitt, Getz, Gordon, and Webster, who navigate the music with both depth, freedom, and facility. He doesn't have to mimic them, but he does have to recognize the nuances. Telling a compelling story requires delivering a song with pace, proper breath placement, and space that allows the lyrics to be delivered complimentary to the message being portrayed and with feelings and authenticity. This debut album is a very good start, and if he is dedicated, McDole will likely continue to develop and add more of the language to his repertoire.

McDole's choice of music for this album shows his willingness to think outside the box. He includes Nicholas Payton's mediative "The Backward Step" originally from his 2023 album Drip. McDole's chant-like vocals work beautifully in tandem with the band. Guitarist Butler adds some stylish solo work, and Band's soprano sax floats higher like a falcon in the thermals. Throughout, McDole's voice beautifully resonates over Faulkner's explosive drum work at the coda.

"The Umbrella Man" is an odd choice that beckons back to a swinging show tune from the late twenties. It  features McDole's facile skat work and some blazing trumpet work by Cruse, a nice tenor solo by Band, and an arousing piano solo by Cardello.

"The Creator Has A Master Plan" was originally released by Pharoah Sanders on his album Karma from 1969. Originally recorded in two sections, the prelude and the main song, the combined run-time was almost thirty-three minutes. This is a challenging song to be tackled by McDole, and he wisely enlists the Tomoki Sanders, the late master's son, to play tenor on this one. Sanders, tenor is a resurrection of sorts. Hearing his plaintive cries and over blows are so evocative of his father's power and spiritual connection in this prelude. Whitaker's ostinato bass lines opens the second section as McDole's rich and flexible voice sings the spiritual and philosophical lyrics with his own gentler approach than one remembers from Thomas' original. Brand's soprano, Butler's guitar, Cardello's piano, and the astute rhythm section of Whitaker and Faulkner create this  hallowed offering. I for one can never recall a better time when the world needs to resurrect the kindness and hopefulness that this song inspires. 

Singing on a ballad like Thelonious Monk's lovely "Ugly Beauty" with lyrics by Mike Ferro, and recording it as a duo with a master like Kenny Barron, is like the ultimate test of transparency. While his phrasing seems slightly affected, Monk often took circuitous paths in his songs. These two provide a glimpse into what McDole could be capable of with a fine ballad while accompanied by a master like Barron who can inspire him to surprising heights.

"Precious Energy (Sun Song)" is another spiritually inspired composition from Leon Thomas that was originally released on Gary Bartz's Quintet's album of the same name from a 1987 live recording. McDole wisely doesn't try Thomas' facile yodeling here, but he does deliver a lithe version that features some fluid, inventive guitar lines from Logan Butler. McDole's vocal is light and soulful. The music is driven by some nice B3 organ by Sullivan Fortner.

Never one who seems to avoid at a challenge, McDole tackles the transcendent "Somalia Rose," a composition by Allyn Johnson, Director of the University of District of Columbia Jazz Ensemble. The music is a powerful piece and  features some modulated guitar work by Michael and some kinetic drum work by Faulkner. McDole vocalizes the soaring parts with ease and aplomb.

Never losing his Haitian folk-music heritage, McDole duos with percussion master Weedie Braimah, and succinctly vocalizes the island fable "Wongolo Wale."

The album continues with the title cut "Won't You Open Your Senses" a swinging, bluesy Horace Silver composition that features some smokin' horn section work by Cruse and Adam, and the sizzling Fender Rhodes piano work by Sullivan Fortner. McDole seems to be  channeling his Joe Williams on this one and it cooks.

The balance of the album includes "Under A Blanket of Blue" a slow paced swinger that features a throaty solo by Adam on tenor and some splendid, stride-like  piano by Cardello. McDole's voice has a silky Nat Cole feel to this one. 

Nicholas Payton's  jaunty rap "Love Is A Four Letter Word"  finds McDole speaking his lines with a Barry White-like lament.

Another tip of the hat to Joe Williams is heard on the classic "Everyday I Have the Blues" with McDole vocalizing it out with gusto as Adam's tenor blares and Whitaker, Cardello and Faulkner lay down the driving beat.

The album ends with an instrumental reprise of Thomas' "The Sun Song."