Andreas Motis - Emotional Dance

2017 CD release.

Featuring guests, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, accordionist Gil Goldstein, baritone saxophonist Scott Robinson and percussionist Café Da Silva. The famous American tenor saxophone Joel Frahm, who has previously collaborated with Motis and Chamorro, also participates in three themes. “We invited him [Joel] to play with us in Barcelona in 2016. His performance was so memorable that we knew that we wanted to have him on the album,” says an enthusiastic Motis.

Even though, Motis is only 23-years-old, she displays a mature musicality beyond her years. That’s because she began playing the trumpet at age seven; three years later she began studying jazz at the Municipal School of Music of Sant Andreu under Chamorro, who soon after recruited her for his band while she was still a teenager. While at the school, she was also a member of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band for nine years with which she recorded eight discs and played with such acclaimed musicians as trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, saxophonist Jesse Davis, clarinetist Bobby Gordon, and saxophonist Dick Oatts, among others. In addition to trumpet, Motis plays alto saxophone. But it was with Chamorro’s band that she began singing. “The trumpet will always be my first instrument,” Motis says when asked if she likes being a singer or an instrumentalist the most. “Playing the trumpet is like meditating; it’s such a part of my life. But I never want to choose just one side of my artistic sides because I love doing them all.”

On Emotional Dance, Motis’ singing mostly takes center stage. She possesses an alluring, supple alto. With its subtle vibrato and her succinct phrasing, Motis’ singing has drawn comparisons to such stylists as Billie Holiday and Norah Jones. Her vocal prowess reveals itself immediately on Charles Daniels and Richard Whiting’s classic, “He’s Funny That Way,” which opens the disc. Perhaps, it’s no coincidence that the jazz standard has long been associated with Lady Day; Motis and her ensemble certainly do the composition justice by underscoring it with a quintessential swing-era shuffle that paves the way for an absorbing solo from Robinson. Motis follows his lead by blowing a delightful trumpet solo that accentuates her citrus tone and her assured sense of melodic swing.