Pianist
Carmen Sandim's sophomore album, 2019's
Play Doh, is a harmonically dense and artful production borne of several years of difficult life circumstances. The Brazilian-born/Boulder, Colorado-based performer and teacher had initially intended to finish the album soon after her 2011 debut, Brand New. However, in the years following, she gave birth to her children, went through a break-up, and found herself having to balance teaching, performing, and being a single mother. She eventually began pulling all-nighters to finish writing the charts for
Play Doh, a choice that no doubt led to some tired days, but ultimately resulted in an album rich with themes of openness and fluidity; one that feels directly connected to her transformative experiences. Helping her achieve this fresh quality is longtime friend, producer
Art Lande, who again helmed the sessions as he did on Brand New. Also coming along are
Kneebody trumpeter
Shane Endsley, saxophonist/clarinetist
Bruce Williamson, trombonist
Alex Heitlinger, guitarist
Khabu Doug Young, bassist Bill McCrossen, and drummer Dru Heller. Together,
Sandim and her group play with a searching, forward-thinking quality that balances kinetic group arrangements with adventurous soloing. The title track perhaps best expresses
Sandim's aesthetic here, as she draws inspiration from the classic modeling clay (one of her children's favorite activities) as well as a three-note mantra they sing while molding shapes. The result is a roiling, tumultuous track marked by a fiery solo from
Endsley. Elsewhere, "Aruru, Juju" is a dusky and angular piece with Latin undertones, while "Undergrowth" draws on '70s jazz-rock fusion as it's continually punctuated by
Young's woozy electric guitar lines.
Sandim also draws upon her classical training on "Isaura," a yearning ballad dedicated to her grandmother and featuring a delicate clarinet solo by
Williamson. Conversely, the pianist offers the breezy,
Dave Brubeck-esque "Waiting for Art" and closes with the similarly luminous, bossa nova-tinged "Free Wilbie." ~ Matt Collar