Linda Oh | Sun Pictures
This is the third album by bassist Linda Oh, this time featuring Ben Wendel on the tenor sax (although he’s credited in the liner notes as trumpet), James Muller on guitar, and Ted Poor on the drums and released on Dave Douglas’s Greenleaf Music label. Like her previous albums, it features original music composed by Oh that often pushes the boundaries without taking the leap into avant-garde or otherwise discordant music. The tracks that stuck out to me the most were the lengthy Blue Over Gold, named for and inspired by the works of visual artist Mark Rothko, and the quiet, almost eerie Terminal 3. I think the second track, Polyphonic HMI, is probably the most approachable, which is funny because she describes it in the liner notes as inspired by a research company that uses analytics to determine whether a song will be a hit or not - it’s a palatable, enjoyable track inspired by popular music. I think the most interesting track on here is actually the first one, Shutterspeed Dreams, which is actually a remix of all of the other tracks on the album. It’s an interesting if slightly repetitive idea that makes for a memorable introduction.
