Winner of the 2012 Thelonious Monk Competition, drummer and singer Jamison Ross released his debut album (which was part of the competition-winning package) Jamison on Concord Jazz in 2015. His follow-up album All for One will also be released on Concord on Jan. 26.
The album features artists Ross has been playing with on the road for a few years – pianist Chris Pattishall, guitarist Rick Lollar (both of whom played on the 2015 debut), bassist Barry Stephenson and Cory Irvin on Hammond organ and Fender Rhodes.
In a press released received by JazzTimes, Ross talked about how much he appreciated Irvin’s organ work, drawing a parallel to the orchestras that would accompany jazz singers like Frank Sinatra or Billie Holiday. And Marvin Gaye. “When I first added the organ in my band, I was inspired by Marvin Gaye’s 1964 LP, When I’m Alone I Cry,” Ross explained. “[On that album] he sings jazz standards with a full orchestra. The organ is like my orchestra. The way I use the organ is a very calculated form. It produces the atmosphere throughout the record. And that parallels how I grew up in church. The organist pulls the emotion out of every tune.”
Ross explained how this particular track resonates deeply with him. “‘Unspoken’ is a song that was inspired by my relationship with my wife and my lifestyle of traveling all over the world — going from country to country, state to state and city to city,” Ross said. “This song explores the conflict of life as a musician and life as a husband. You want to feel that ‘love’ from the one you love, but sometimes it can feel so far away and there is nothing they can do at all to make you feel their love. It becomes an unspoken love, a love between two people that they both understand.”
Enjoy this premiere of “Unspoken” by Jamison Ross –
Preview, buy or download songs from the album All for One by Jamison Ross on iTunes.
Read Jennifer Odell’s 2015 profile of Jamison Ross.
Originally Published
