Traveler

SmoothJazz.com Review

     

Apply straight-ahead jazz sensibilities to compositions with a contemporary groove, and you have the recipe for some tasty music that’s accessible enough for Smooth Jazz fans and meaty enough for jazz heads, too. That’s exactly what Norwegian-born and now So Cal-based sax man Terje Lie (say “Terry Lee”) has cooked up for us in TRAVELER, his impressive debut disc.Terje spent many years as a jazz artist and freelance musician in the L.A. area, including gigs with the acclaimed Nelson Riddle Orchestra. When you’re working on a culinary masterpiece, you need quality ingredients, which in Terje’s case would be the ten original songs, ranging from the energetic “Pier Avenue” and “Runnin’ Outta Time” to the eloquent and introspective Miles Davis salute, “MDD III,” and the stunningly beautiful traditional jazz ballad, “My Love.” You can’t create award-winning dishes without a brilliant staff to support you (as anyone who’s seen Iron Chef can attest), and Terje Lie’s got three of L.A.’s most exciting sidemen for this project, namely keyboardist David Garfield, bassist Ernest Tibbs, and drummer Jeff Olson. Oh, and for some added spice, Terje sings on a couple of the tracks, namely “I Want To Love You” and “Travelers,” which has a bit of a Kurt Elling vibe to it. So the prep-work is done, it’s time to cook, and “BAM!” that’s where the magic happens on TRAVELER. With sax solos that remind me of Wayne Shorter and solid musicianship throughout, Terje Lie’s TRAVELER delivers a most satisfying aural feast! ~SCOTT O'BRIEN