Quite a few artists have been crossing the boundary between jazz and pop for decades now. And while it is no new thing, it did become a matter of how such an artist has been keeping the balance between the elements of the two genres, and, ultimately, how good is the music they come up with.
Washington DC-based flutist, vocalist, and composer Alex Hamburger is one such one who just came up with her second album What If?
While on this album Hamburger doesn’t shy away from including pop elements in her music, she firmly keeps both her feet in the realm of jazz. And while some would add that, for many dreaded, tag of ‘smooth,’ she mostly sticks to the ‘standard’ jazz structures, of what a jazz ballad with improvisational elements should sound like, exemplified best here on “Lion’s Den.”
The quality of Hamburger’s vocals and her flute playing is as high as she set them on her debut And She Spoke (2021), and is expertly supported by the album producer José Luiz Martins, who is also heard here on keys, synths and piano, Tyrone Allen II on electric, acoustic and synth bass, Chase Elodia on drums and Patrick Graney on percussion.
No, you may not call it smooth, but late-night jazz might be just fine.
