by Myles Marlow

I just finished listening to the Monjour album in its streaming version. It’s really good. Seven tunes that flow in and out of each other with crystalline production values. Monjour to my ears is a yin/yang dance of both the sparkle and the tidal. The playing and instrumentation provides sparkle, bubbling and popping as guitars, pianos, winds and horns hand off to each other, moving the focus in and out, back and forth

Look who’s playing. Cass Anawaty is playing guitars, pianos and synths.  Paul Russell is on bass, guitars and keys.  They bring in Romy Benton (flute), Steve Gorn (bansuri), Geoff Oakes (tenor sax), Jenny Bird (vocals) and Jeff Leonard (fretless bass). Paul Russell handles the mix and Cass does the mastering. So of course it sparkles.

The infrastructure is the tidal element that holds this album together. There are seven tunes all of which take whatever time is needed to grow and develop before moving to the next. Most are about six to eight minutes long. It’s a style of long sentences in which phrases evolve and echo back and forth.

I’ve heard the whole album twice now and I can only say that I’m looking forward to subsequent hearings, particularly in its fully-mastered CD version, in which I’m sure I’ll hear things I missed on my first listen." - Myles Marlow, Washington DC

Thanks for that great review, Myles.