Earth Jazz Agents - Rhythms of the Sea [CD]

Renowned marine life artist Wyland has assembled the brightest jazz talents in New York City to create, 'Rhythms of the Sea,' a new collection of 'eco-conscious' music set to the artist's lyrics. The 13-song CD album was recorded in New York City with saxophonist Vincent Herring, Saturday Night Live trombonist Steve Turre, pianist Anthony Wonsey and vocalist Paulette McWilliams performing as the Earth Jazz Agents. 'With this debut music project, Wyland's goal is clear as the turquoise water of a South Pacific island,' says Laurence Donohue-Greene, managing editor of AllAboutJazz-New York. 'We can only hope that future collaborations between marine life and earthbound musicians continue along these paths.' 'Rhythms of the Sea' was arranged and produced by Herring, who called upon other collaborators, including as trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, pianist/keyboardist Nat Adderley, Jr., cellist Akua Dixon, and two-time Grammy Award winning engineer Marc Urselli. Noted for his fine Cannonball Adderley-inspired alto work, Herring also performs on soprano sax and flute. From 'Flow', 'Sacred Seas', and 'Ocean Paradise' to 'Turtle Time', 'Rhythms of the Sea', 'Ocean of Light' and 'Endangered Species', vocalist Paulette McWilliams connects Wyland's environmentally-conscious thoughts and words into song. Wyland himself composed lyrics for six of the seven songs that McWilliams sings and even makes a brief cameo on 'Endangered Species' by adding spoken word over the backing vocals of Andromeda Turre's repeated refrain of 'Protect our Planet.' Turre bridges the worlds further with his musical mastery of the conch shell. His composition 'Flying Fish' is a celebratory number, from Herring's high-spirited alto lines leading to trumpeter Jeremy Pelt's Hugh Masakela-influenced smears, blasts and bent notes, trombonist Turre and Wonsey's soulful upbeat piano. 'Whale Song' pairs composer Turre's overdubbed conches and Dixon's arco-played cello with the as-credited 'backing vocals' of a recording by the humpback whales of the Silver Bank.