Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge — Whispers on the Wind In a year that saw lots of interesting Bay area jazz news (shout out to La Lucha pianist John O’Leary for raising $5,000 to record an album built around DNA and neuroscience), no one made more noise than USF professor Chuck Owen, who — along with his band the Jazz Surge — earned four 2018 Grammy nominations. It’s all thanks to this seven-track suite propelled by a 19-piece big band, full orchestra, dulcimer and even accordion, which all appear alongside horns (like that of Grammy-winning trumpeter Randy Brecker) and harmonica by Grégoire Maret. Produced by longtime Tampanian Tom Morris, the result is a non-traditional, expansive and sublime recording inspired by the American heartland and accented by composer Sara Caswell, whose violin shines on the nearly 12-minute long Whispers highlight “Can’t Remember Why.” (Summit/MAMA Records)
See a full recap of the year's best local albums in the new issue of Creative Loafing Tampa. Check out the full list via cltampa.com/music. Call your local record store to see if it has this release.
