Very Strange Night

Album Review

Samson Trinh's debut recording as a composer/arranger is an impressive affair, mixing many different styles and several vocal features, dominated by thoughtful originals and a few familiar pieces. Singer Terri Murphy shines in a pair of ballads (the multi-layered orchestral "To You, Near You, With You" and the trio setting of "That's Why"). Keyboardist Adrian Duke adds soulful vocals to the amusing big-band chart of "Signs Are Full of Jive," while Jackie Frost salutes Patsy Cline in Trinh's country composition "Thank Goodness," which includes lap steel guitar and mandolin in addition to the rhythm section. The instrumental charts include a Charles Mingus-influenced work entitled "I Can't Believe That I'm Addicted to the O.C.," a bluesy piece full of quirky brass and reed lines. The one ill-fitting track is "I Tried to Talk to Her, But She Thought I Was Too Weird," a loud piece of jam band/fusion material that proves to be a distraction (the composer remarks in the press kit that it was inspired by Medeski, Martin & Wood and instrumental tracks by the Beastie Boys, which explains its incompatibility with the remainder of the CD). But aside from this one song, this is a very rewarding effort for a promising young composer.