Songs My Mom Liked

Composer and Arranger Anthony Branker puts together a free thinking team of Donny McCaslin/ts-ss, Philip Dizack/tp, Fabian Almazan/p, Linda May Han O h/b, Rudy Royston/dr, Pete McCann/g and Aubrey Johnson/voc for a collection of originals dedicated to his mother and her battle with dementia.

The atmospheres range from uptempo pieces like "Praise" that feature McCaslin in a shrieking mood to an elegiac "Sketches of Selim" with a lovely aria from Dizack. The harmonies are warm around Oh's bass on "Land of Milk & Honey" while Dizak is warm with Johnson on "Three Gifts (From a Nigerian Mother to God)". McCaslin does some soul strutting with McCannon "When We Said Goodbye" and Almazan is elegiac during "Hope" with the team getting frisky as it closes things out on a rambunctious "If". Celebrative sounds.