For his tenth release A New Day, veteran jazz guitarist Patrick Yandall delivers an album full of different styles. As with his previous work, the songs of A New Day are filled with Yandall’s smooth guitar soloing, which remains impressive. The 11 tracks of A New Day are often highlighted by the talented saxophone and brass playing of Jeff Laakso, making Yandall’s effort perfect for fans of instrumental jazz.
A New Day opens with its title track and single. Here, Yandall infuses his jazz foundation with polished R&B brass melodies. Of course, “A New Day” features several bright guitar solos from Yandall that help round out the song. Marc Pierucci’s confident key playing adds the final touch to a perfectly composed track filled with smart melodies.
Yandall clearly knows how to write a powerful R&B melody and continues to showcase this skill later in A New Day with the tracks “Urban Flight” and “If You Love Me.” Yandall brings some of his most memorable guitar riffs to these songs, which also benefit from driving bass and key rhythms.
At other points on A New Day, Yandall’s sound relies heavily on funk, such as the uptempo “I Am There.” Funk guitar riffs are complimented by beautiful saxophone solos that really make the track stand out. If you’re a funk fan, it would be hard to find a more pleasing sound than “Pistons Stomp.” The song definitely is the funkiest on the album.
Instrumental jazz fans will quickly adopt A New Day because Yandall can add so many different sounds to the jazz template that each song has. “The Path” has Latin guitar riffs that add a whole new intrigue to the album. Even blues fans can find songs to enjoy on the album like “Mr. Fattburger” and “LC Squared.”
Overall, A New Day continues Yandall’s successful legacy. The textured tracks of the album make it a fascinating listen for any jazz fan.
March 3, 2009
