The height of pandemic brought a lot of what we love about our lives to halt. Star jazz musician Senri Oe can relate. He found himself confined to his apartment in New York, unable to tour or play live music for audiences of his adorning fans.
Luckily, Senri’s ability to compose music, play the piano remarkably, and record new songs carried on, drawing inspiration from the circumstances. From this we get his brilliant album Letter To N.Y., released July 21, 2021.
This gorgeously articulated 11-track set is sonic storytelling at its finest. It’s a narration of surroundings, emotions, compassionate thoughts, and optimism in the face of panic and uncertainty.
“Pedestrian”, one of the best songs on the album, feels like you’re talking a stroll through rapidly changing normalcy.
“Out of Chaos”, with its blaring horns, erratic keys, and extremely varied percussion, exudes the anxiousness brought on by widespread concern.
“A Werewolf in Brooklyn” also feels hectic.
And then there’s the upbeat yet mellow “Staying at Ed’s Place”, a chords-driven melody that feels like a theme for a television show that resolves all its issues by the end credits and leaves everyone smiling.
The song that touched me most was the beautiful and soulful “The Kindness of Strangers”. It serenaded my spirit, reminding me that we’re all connected and that we do care about the profound positive effect we can have on one another.
Senri appropriately concludes Letter To N.Y. with his acclaimed hit “Togetherness”, the neatly scribed signature at the end of well-documented feelings. |THIS.
[By M.J. Walker]
