Brazilian pianist Age Garcia recently moved to South Florida, where he recorded Alabastro (Golden Dome), which consists of 10 of his compositions. The performances are short, from 3:16 to 4:52. There is minimal jazz content here and little interaction between Garcia and bassist David Wertman and drummer/percussionist Neal Backman. Garcia’s piano dominates the proceedings-there is only one bass solo and there are no drum solos-and his tunes are somewhat reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi’s but without Guaraldi’s melodic hooks. (It is possible that a lyricist could use “So Far” and “Mirra” to create good songs for a vocalist.)
Alabastro is short, sketchy, contains little variety or use of dynamics and no virtuosity and might appeal more to smooth jazz enthusiasts or people seeking unobtrusive background music than to hard-core jazz fans.
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