EMILY KUHN

FEATHERED THINGS

Desafio Candente Records

Emily Kuhn, trumpet; Meghan Stagl, piano/vocals; Erik Skov, guitar; Kitt Lyles, bass; Gustavo Cortiñas, drums.

This album titled “Feathered Things” is a collection of eight original compositions by Chicago trumpeter, Emily Kuhn.  She wrote these original tunes during a winter residency at the Oxbow School of Art in Michigan.  She uses images of feathers, flight, fire and snow to explore her themes of hope and resilience.

The opening composition is called “Telephone.”  It opens with a fluid trumpet solo by Emily that gets this listener’s attention immediately. With a bit of echo added to her solo performance, she calls my ears to attention with her rubato introduction. Then comes Gustavo Cortiñas on drums, setting the tempo and inviting the rhythm section to the party. Erik Skov on electric guitar is hotly featured mid-way through their 10-minute arrangement. Then comes Kitt Lyles, showing off his bass skills during an improvised solo. Cortiñas completes the arrangement with a power-driven drum solo, as the instruments solo wildly above his energy.  Even though all the Kuhn arrangements are long, they are definitely not boring.

“Vaulted” comes next.  If you were expecting an energized arrangement, like the Olympic pole vaulters, you would be wrong.  This is, instead, a lovely ballad.  Meghan Stagl is briefly featured on piano.

A suite of songs follows, all titled “Feathered Things” with sub-titles like “1. For Those Left Behind.”  This composition begins quite pensively.  There is an air of sadness about it.  Kuhn grows the arrangement from a solo trumpet, adding other instrumentation as she goes. Soon, the song bursts into a tornado of instrumentation, swirling around the repeated melody, like leaves caught up in the wind or wild birds circling.

On Part 11 of the Feathered Things-suite, Meghan Stagl adds her soprano voice to the mix. Her voice is light and airy, the tones sounding like jazz scats, even though there are lyrics attached.  She and Kuhn sing improvised excitement at the end of the tune, blending their talents.

Part III of the suite is titled “Wingspan” and features a repetitive piano line beneath Kuhn’s introduction of a trumpet melody.  The guitar adds its own flight pattern. Erik Skov soars above the rolling drums of Cortiñas.  Kuhn’s music seems to depend on the repetition of a theme line. I was happy to hear Kitt Lyles creatively step away from the melody when he improvised on bass.

All of this music is easy listening.  I longed for one song where Emily Kuhn played her trumpet in a straight-ahead way, or with some blues root, some ‘swing’ or shuffle.  These jazz notes are missing from her project.  It’s a very laid-back presentation, but beautiful in its own sweet way.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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