From
Vancouver, Canada, comes the new album from Juno Award-winning multiple
horn player Gabriel Mark Hasselbach. As he prepares to release his
second album since June, he’s grateful for a productive summer that sees
the release of his fifteenth album, ‘Count Your Lucky Stars’. Co-written and produced with Lew Laing Jr. (Paul Brown, Richard Elliot, Norman Brown), ‘Count Your Lucky Stars’ is a 13-track aural exploration of contemporary jazz rhythms, grooves, and melodies. Showcasing his lyrically expressive horn playing, Hasselbach uses multiple horns on each track in the project. The variety gives him the power to color, shade, and texture each song in unique ways.
“I mix my flute and my muted trumpet and my flugelhorn in a lot of different combinations. And I really like the balance of those textures. It provides different sonic colors to me, so it’s something that I’ve gravitated to and just by nature have developed,” Hasselbach said.
The album opener, ‘SunSeeker’, is the first single from the new album and the track that spotlights saxophonist Marion Meadows. The song began racking up radio and Spotify playlist adds last week, including SiriusXM’s Watercolors. Both artists spent many years living in Hawaii. Hasselbach offers a glimpse into the song’s inspiration. “The song title explains our journey to the islands, a magical place full of hope and love. Tradewinds create breezes that keep you cool, allowing the sun to gently burnish you,” Hasselbach said.
The upbeat title track follows, about which Hasselbach had this to say: “I spent the last twenty years or so doing the personal development work to reach my potential and higher self, and part of that exercise was a daily affirmation that started out as wishful thinking and became my reality along the way. A 'thank you' goes a long way in daily interactions, but even more so when you thank the Universe or Higher Power for the good things you have - mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually - rather than the things you don't have.” We then go into chill-out mode for ‘Positive Space’, while ‘We Are’ features the distinctive voice of Juno and American Music Award-winning guitarist Alfie Zappacosta.
Pianist Miles Black is on hand on ‘Force of Habit’, a slick percussive groove constructed by Laing Jr. and bassist Glenn Riley. Laing Jr.’s deft beats anchor ‘Funky Lew’, one of two duets on the album performed by Hasselbach and Laing Jr. And Eddie Bullen makes an appearance on ‘Written in the Stars’, delivering a poetic piano solo. The tempo picks up on ‘Show of Hands’, leading us to the dance floor. Hasselbach said it was written as a tribute to those who give back to society.
“This is an inspirational and aspirational track that is meant to promote community spirit and giving. The world needs more uplifting and civic minded people who don't always put themselves first. In a way, this song is an anthem for the good guys!” he said. Hasselbach proposed to his wife on the Eiffel Tower, and ‘Paris Solstice’ is a reminder of that. ‘Just A Little Fling’ is flute-driven, while Andrew Jacob Scott’s articulate electric jazz guitar is featured on ‘State of Play’.
The atmospheric ‘That Being Said’ ventures into exotic romance, created by Andre Frappier’s rhythmic Latin guitar and Steve Alaniz’s sensual sax. ‘Work the Magic’ celebrates the magic of momentum, which began for Hasselbach last month when he released a retrospective collection of 18 vocal tracks from his 14 albums. ‘The Vocalists’ features Michael Bublé, Dee Daniels and a skilled assortment of popular Canadian vocalists, as well as Hasselbach singing himself. The vocal album consists of straight-ahead jazz, R&B, blues and adult contemporary pop selections. Alfie Zappacosta returns for the closer and radio edit of ‘We Are’.
I reviewed Gabriel years ago for Smoothjazz.eu and still love his music. Excellent smooth and contemporary jazz for the fans!
Tracks:
SunSeeker
Count Your Lucky Stars
Positive Space
We Are
Force of Habit
Funky Lew
Written in the Stars
Show of Hands
Paris Solstice
Just A Little Fling
State of Play
That Being Said
Work the Magic
We Are (radio edit)