Songs My Mom Liked

I always like to listen to records by composers and arrangers that don't play any instruments on their records. Anthony Branker is a composer and an arranger, and the musical director of Songs My Mom Liked. Branker has put together the perfect cast of musicians to play his music. The stars of the cast are saxophonist Donny McCaslin, pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist Linda May Han Oh, guitarist Pete McCann, and drummer Rudy Royston. But the entire musical collective makes this beautiful music happen. The music feels sort of like one long through- composed eleven-part suite. Throughout it all trumpeter Philip Dizack's playing consistently rises to the top and drummer Rudy Royston has ample space to become the glue that holds things together. Royston plays the role of connective tissue very well, he has thoroughly and perfectly conceptualized Branker's music. Finding musical comparison's for Branker and his music leaves me without answers, which is fine, you'll just have to listen to his music and create your own descriptions. I highly recommend it.