Andre Canniere - Ghost Days [CD]

The US-born, London-based trumpeter and composer Andre Canniere follows up his acclaimed 'The Darkening Blue' with a new release on Whirlwind. 'Ghost Days' reunites him with singer Brigitte Beraha and saxophonist Tori Freestone, and introduces a new, all-star UK rhythm team of Rick Simpson (piano) Tom Farmer (bass) and Andrew Bain (drums). <p>Six of the album's seven original compositions were inspired by a unique collaboration between Andre and the poets/writers Malika Booker and Rebecca Lynch. Each piece had a poem as its starting point, defining the overall mood and the rhythm and phrasing of the melody, and the emotional message of the lyrics is beautifully delivered by Beraha to create a unity of atmosphere throughout the album. The songs deal with loss, anxiety and disappointment, but are leavened with humour and a powerful sense of hope that reaches its climax in the final instrumental track, 'Endure'. <p>A Pennsylvania native, Andre first developed his career in New York where he worked with artists such as Maria Schneider, Becca Stevens, Donny McCaslin, Kate McGarry, Ingrid Jensen and Darcy James Argue, and this album is full of the kind of innovative cross-genre exploration for which those artists are renowned.