A live recording taped in March 2013 at Mirelle’s in Westbury, New York, Listen to Your Dreams from the George Bouchard Group is a montage of improvised phrasing, melodic incisions, and harmonious layers all stemming from the players souls. Jazz with soul landscapes the George Bouchard’s self-released CD Listen to Your Dreams in facets of swing, bop-influenced musings, bluesy tinted passages, and torchlight textured sonatas.
The ballroom glow of the waltzing phrases landscaping “Elaine” have a “Pennies from Heaven” sophisticated swagger climaxing with Bouchard’s expressive saxophone solo performed to perfection. The glistening verses bolting the title track are interspersed with surges of pronounced piano riffs played by Charles Blenzig and a comfy pumping in the rhythm section chiseled by bassist John Ray and drummer Ian Petillo.
The perky, swinging beats traipsing across “Nothin’ I Can Do” are garland in percolating horns and vaunting keys guided by the musicians inner voices imprinting spontaneous impulses and milling a series of freestyle dynamics. Improvised sequences made by the horns and piano are sowed and seamed coming together into a cohesive fusion as the bass and drums stoke a willowy throbbing.
Wafting a bluesy soul atmospheric that’s aesthetically melodic, “It’s Raining in the Morning” and “I’m Your Baby” are tunes made for audiences to escape into and bask in their serenity. “Always the Best with You” is garbed in old time jazz vestiges reminiscent of Guy Lombardi’s orchestra, and the satiny finish of “Do You Miss Me” reduces the group’s decibel to a slow burning simmer. The group closes the album with the upbeat vibrations pulsating and grazing along “It Doesn’t Matter” as Bouchard’s saxophone scallops the track in ringlets of flowery swirls.
A composer, performer, and educator, George Bouchard’s material is a reflection of his influences, his lifestyle, and his experiences interacting with his band mates. Presently, a music professor at Nassau Community College, Bouchard weaves jazz-inspired dreamscapes with a lot of soul infused into the material inciting spurts of improvisation.
Musicians:
George Bouchard – tenor and soprano saxophones, Andrew Grossbard – tenor saxophone, Dave Smith – trumpet and flugelhorn, Charles Blenzig – piano, John Ray – bass, Ian Petrillo – drums
Tracklisting:
Listen to Your Dreams, I’m Your Baby, Elaine, Nothin’ I Can Do, It’s Raining in the Morning, Always the Best with You, Do You Miss Me, It Doesn’t Matter
