"Julian Shore’s compositions are based around the expansion and development of the beautifully simple. Memorable, honest and effortless, the songs flow with the organic freedom found in jazz, but with the clarity of intent one might find in a lullaby. With two dextrous singers carrying the melodic duties, the music glides and skips whether the songs feature lyrics or ephemeral vocalese. Teaming up with acclaimed guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, Shore’s new record “Filaments” depicts moments, memories and ideas in vivid imagery, while remaining unpredictable and full of humor. "
"Shore's new album Filaments, is a strikingly beautiful, often ethereal collection of tunes and songs with lyrics by Alexa Barchini, who also contributes lithe, lambent vocals on six of the album’s 10 tracks. His debut album, 2010’s For Away Places, was widely hailed as a preternaturally mature statement, but Filaments captures a singular artist with a fully realized vision.
With the record, his second release, Shore features a stellar cast, including guitar great Kurt Rosenwinkel, commanding bassist Phil Donkin and supremely tasteful drummer Tommy Crane. Rosenwinkel’s influence is evident in Shore’s subtle textural shadings and rarefied harmonic sensibility, as are the glistening timbres of Gretchen Parlato.
While not conceived as a suite, Shore’s compositions on Filaments flow together like pieces in a tapestry. The album opens with “Grey Light, Green Lily,” an incantatory, rising and falling line rendered by Rosenwinkel’s shimmering guitar in unison with the gleaming vocals of Shelly Tzarafi, an Israeli-born vocalist and guitarist who’s rapidly making a name for herself on the New York scene. She contributes wordless vocals on five tracks, mostly in lustrous harmonies with Barchini.
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