2025 is officially underway, ladies and gentlemen. It is hard to believe but this young year is already almost a month and a half old. Before we know it, the year will already be halfway over. As the calendar turned from 2024 to 2025, jazz outfit Groovology got a quick start to the year with the release of its new album, Almost Home. Released Jan. 1 through its own label, Groovology Productions, the 11-song record offers much for listeners to enjoy in regard to its musical content. The arrangements, which span a total run time of 73-minutes, will be discussed shortly. While the arrangements featured throughout the album make for plenty of engagement and entertainment, the album is not perfect. The lack of any liner notes detract from that appeal at least to a point. This will be discussed a little later. The noted lack is not enough to doom the record. To that end, there is one more positive to note, that being the record’s production, which will also be discussed later. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the record’s presentation. All things considered they make Almost Home a presentation that while imperfect, is sure to find a home on plenty of jazz lovers’ music racks.
Almost Home, the new album from Groovology, is a mostly successful addition to this year’s field of new jazz albums. That is due in large part to its featured arrangements. The arrangements are of note because each is an original, composed by the group’s members – Aaron Aranita (woodwinds, piano), David Yamasaki (guitar), Ernie Provencher (bass), and Scott Schafer (drums). There are no covers here, and each song boasts its own style and sound. Right from the outset, the collective presents a light, flowing piece in the album’s title track. Composed by Aranita, his performance on saxophone and piano pairs with Schafer’s timekeeping to create something that has the most subtle Latin tinge. At the same time, there is something about the whole that makes the work comparable to works composed by another even more well-known jazz collective, the Yellowjackets, in the late 1990s, on albums, such as Blue Hats and Club Nocturne. ‘Groovology, another early entry to the record, is another light presentation. Composed by Yamasaki, the use of the electric keyboard and funky drumming throws back to some of the sounds of the 1970s. At the same time, Aranita’s performance on the clarinet here blends an even older style and sound while still blending seamlessly into the bigger presentation. While the song was composed by Yamasaki, he makes no effort to steal the spotlight. Rather, he lets his band mates lead the way, with even Provencher getting some solo time. The whole herein is a prime example of the diversity in Almost Home’s musical body and how it makes the album so engaging and entertaining.
As the album progresses through its hour-plus run time, things continue to change notably from one song to the next. The quartet even dips into some Pat Metheney-esque work in the late entry, ‘Head Room.’ Composed by Schafer, the light grove of the keyboard line and the performance by Yamasaki pairs with Schafer’s funky but still light timekeeping makes that comparison to works from Metheny and his fellow musicians simple. Yet again , here is a prime example of the diversity in the album’s content.
As if all of that is not enough, the group even pays tribute (intentionally or not is unknown) to a jazz classic in yet another late entry, ‘Manoa.’ The composition is immediately comparable to none other than ‘The Girl From Impanema.’ That is evidenced through the vocal performance of Carlinhos de Olivera and the instrumental performances from the quartet. De Olivera’s slightly staccato vocal performance is right there along the lines of the performance from Astrud Gilberto, who performed the vocals for the first and most famous recording of ‘The Girl From Impanema.’ The whole makes this composition (which was actually composed by someone not a member of Groovology – Alberto Bessera) yet another fully enjoyable work that further exhibits the musical diversity of Almost Home. When it and the other songs examined here are considered alongside the rest of the album’s entries, the whole therein builds a strong foundation for Almost Home.
While the musical content featured throughout Almost Home gives audiences reason enough to take in this album, the record is not perfect. Like far too many albums from far too many jazz acts out there, the record is sadly lacking in any background on those songs. There are no liner notes to speak of in this album’s packaging. As a result, the enjoyment that listeners will get from the album will be a surface appreciation. This critic has pointed this out so many times, but it clearly deems repeating here. When background is provided on instrumental compositions (whether it be jazz or otherwise) the song becomes more than just an arrangement and its title. Audiences are taken to a deeper level of appreciation because that background helps listeners more fully understand the emotions in said works and the overall structure of those works. So again, lacking that background does not doom the album, but it certainly would have helped enhance the listening experience.
Knowing that the lack of background on the songs is not the do all end all for Almost Home, there is still one more positive to note herein. That positive is the album’s production. From one song to the next, the album’s production is top of the line. Each musician’s performance is expertly complimented by his fellow band mate. The levels on each part are that well-balanced. The result is a full aesthetic enjoyment of the album that together with the enjoyment from the music itself, gives audiences all the more reason to take in the album. All things considered Almost Home proves to be a welcome early addition to 2025’s field of new jazz albums even with its one noted shortfall.
Almost Home, the new album from Groovology, is a work that most jazz audiences will appreciate. That is due in large part to its featured arrangements. Spanning a total of one hour, 13 minutes, the album’s 11 total songs offer much for audiences to appreciate. That is due to their diversity in sound and style. They establish a strong foundation for the album, but that foundation is somewhat weakened by the lack of background on the songs in any liner notes. The lack thereof is not enough to doom the album but certainly would have helped its presentation. Keeping that in mind, there is one more positive to note, that being the album’s production. It ensures a positive aesthetic appeal for the record. When that appeal and the appeal guaranteed by the songs themselves are considered together, that more than makes reason for audiences to take in Almost Home.
Almost Home is available now through Groovology Productions. More information on the album is available along with all of Groovology’s latest news at:
Website: https://aaronaranitamusic.com
Website: https://davidyamasaki.live
