Songs My Mom Liked

The American composer Anthony Branker dedicated his latest work to his 88-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia. On car journeys together, he repeatedly played her the music he had once composed. He noticed that it put her in a happy mood and that she began to move to the sounds. So he decided to reinterpret some pieces with his ensemble "Imagine". "Songs My Mom Liked" contains twelve tracks. Eleven of them were written by Branker, only the song "If" is a composition by his then eleven-year-old daughter, inspired by smooth jazz. Stylistically, the new album is difficult to categorize. Jazz with soulful undertones dominates on "Imani", while on "When We Said Goodbye" McCaslin shines on the saxophone in the best R'n'B sound. "Hope" is a beautiful ballad with Philip Dizack on trombone and Fabian Almazan on piano in the leading roles.