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Reviews

Leah Waybright — Dreamed
(Invasion Merch, 2023, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2024-01-22

Dreamed Cover art

It’s been quite a while since we heard from Leah Waybright — not since Beauty Gone Wild in 1999, in fact. And like that album so long ago, she’s turned to Happy the Man alumni Stan Whittaker (guitar) and Rick Kennel (bass, drums, percussion) to flesh out her compositions, along with Gary Blu (woodwinds); in addition, Mark Wood  plays violin on one track. The result is much closer to progressive rock than New Age, and is a joy from start to finish. Waybright has the knack of writing beautiful music that isn’t sappy, with flowing melodies and lovely neo-classical piano accompanied by just the right amount of rhythmic backing from bass and drums, keeping the music active without overwhelming it. Waybright’s keyboard playing is stellar, with rapid arpeggios that don’t blindly follow chords but contribute their own melodic value. The tracks are harmonically rich, though not dissonant, far beyond simple major and minor chords while not reaching for the stock jazz extensions. Blu’s flutes and saxes are often the stars, and his playing is outstanding, tempering his pure tones with expressive inflections that avoid cliches. In short, Waybright is a skilled composer, and she’s chosen a perfect group of musicians to realize her dream in the real world. Dreamed is delightful, and we can hope she doesn’t wait more than 20 years for her next album.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): Stan Whitaker, Leah Waybright

More info
http://invasionmerch.com/products/leah-waybright-dreamed

 

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