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Sarah Manning: Dandelion Clock
By
Linda May Han Oh
bass, acousticb.1984

Art Hirahara
pianob.1971
These players aren't content to just play time or deliver, bland cliché-ridden music. While Manning bookends the album with two classicsstarting with Jimmy Rowles
piano
1918 - 1996Michel Legrand
piano
1932 - 2019
The remaining seven songsManning's compositions allare no less original. When "Habersham Street" begins, it sounds like it could have been a long lost relative of Billy Strayhorn
piano
1915 - 1967
Oh's steady rhythm introduces "Crossing, Waiting," as Manning delivers a melody filled with mystery and paranoia, leading to Oh taking control with an exhilarating solo. Manning returns with a slightly more angular and rough sound, while Struve takes over for an unaccompanied solo. Struve and Oh create a doom-laden cadence on "The Owls (Are On The March)" features a unique rhythmic structure that allows the music to briefly morph into swing and then a Latin-esque groove, with Hirahara delivering his wildest and most unruly playing on the album. The highlight on "Phoenix Song" is the interplay and exchanges between Manning and Struve. Manning solos, with only drums beneath her, and then removes herself, allowing Struve to wreak some havoc.
Manning's writing and playing, along with the singular, organic nature of this quartet, makes Dandelion Clock a winning listen from beginning to end.
">Track Listing
The Peacocks; Marble; Habersham Street; I Tell Time By the Dandelion Clock; Crossing, Waiting; The Owls (Are on the March); Through the Keyhole; Phoenix Song; The Windmills of Your Mind.
Personnel
Sarah Manning
saxophoneSarah Manning: alto saxophone; Art Hirahara: piano; Linda Oh: bass; Kyle Struve: drums.
Album information
Title: Dandelion Clock | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Posi-Tone Records
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