Musicians: Deidre Rodman: piano, melodica, vocals (2 tracks); Russ Johnson: flugelhorn, trumpet; Tony Malaby: tenor & soprano sax; Bob Bowen: bass; Mark Ferber: drums; Luciana Souza: vocals (3 tracks).
Review: What makes Deidre Rodman’s brand of mellow bebop stand apart/away from the pack is her tunes: they have an uncomplicated, folk-oriented simplicity & directness, a gentleness derived from American folk, blues and gospel sources. Not like she's "quoting," mind you - she's drawing on the essence of these musics. Rodman plays spare, pastel-hued piano, while bandmates color her canvases with deceptive ease. “Bodhi” is one of the most gentle, unassuming, hearing bits of song I’ve heard this year. Nothing startling, but honest, compassionate, heartfelt jazz with folk overtones in the melody lines & presentation -- imagine if Oregon/Paul Winter Consort were more bop-oriented, or the 70s Horace Silver Quintet played tunes by Carole King, Robin Holcomb and Joni Mitchell. This could use some more uptempo tunes, but nice -- very nice indeed.
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