Everything Sacred, Nothing Serious

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Everything Sacred, Nothing Serious, from Kelsey Mines and it's really strong. Opening with "Self-Alchemization," Kelsey Mines on bass and vocal and John Hansen on piano create a certain ambiance which develops into a super interesting groove. With Elsa Nilsson on flute and Beserat Tafesse on trombone playing in tandem, the sketch of melody is cast. Hansen takes the first solo with nicely illustrated piano lead, backed by Danilo Silva on guitar, Mines on bass, Machado Mijiga on drums and Jeff Busch on percussion. Nilsson rolls out a real nice flute solo with super bass and drum work supporting. Excellent! "Sitting and Not Waiting" has a really nice shape, Mines driving the bottom. Tafesse really wails on trombone with finesse and precision, punctuated by Mijiga and Hansen. Hansen really has great chops on piano, further expanding the track over the ever driving bass of Mines. "Pluriverse" is a real interesting track opening with a somewhat avant-garde intro, feeding via a rhythmic bass line by Mines. Nilsson on flute and Tafesse on trombone create a nicely harmonic melody line with light cymbal and snare work by Mijiga. A warm interlude by by Nilsson on flute is really strong ...accented by Hansen and Mijiga and Mines bass work is masterful. As the band pares back, Silva plays lush lead guitar with really nice phrasing. Wrapping the release is lively, "Marcy's Regret" with a lightly salted Latin rhythm. Nilsson and Tafesse have the lead carried by the super rhythm section of Mines and Mijiga. Mines gets a real nice chance to lay down a really sweet bass solo with rhythm by Silva on guitar and Mijiga on drums. Nilsson picks up the lead on flute and Busch on percussion brings up the heat. Mijiga and Hansen throw fuel on the fire with a great percussive duel bringing up the finale. Very nice recording.