Hannah Burgé
Green River Sessions (Hannah Burgé, 2015)
Green River Sessions is the debut album by rising Canadian jazz vocalist Hannah Burgé (pronounced bur-jeh). Her musical influences are jazz and world music. On the world music side, Brazilian music and more specifically bossa nova permeate the album.
Most of Green River Sessions leans too heavily on the smooth jazz side. The musical arrangements, featuring easy listening bossa nova inspired music and melancholic harmonica appear excessively in jazz albums.
The one song that caught my attention was the first track on the album, “Art of Living.” Here, Hannah Burgé ventures into Afro-Cuban vocals, delivering a masterful and memorable performance. To give you an idea of what I’m talking, imagine the vocals that appear in the albums by Cuban groups Sintesis and Mezcla.
The lineup on the album includes Hannah Burgé on vocals; Hendrik Meurkens on harmonica; Robi Botos on keyboards; Paco Luviano on bass and vocals; Mark Kelson on drums and percussion; Tony Zorzi on guitar; Kelly Jefferson on saxophone; Luisito Orbegoso on vocals; and Jalidan Ruiz on congas.
Buy the album at hannahburge.ca/music
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
