Pacific Harp Project Play, MINI-Review

Anyone who loves the harp and likes to hear it carry forward what can be done in "Jazz-Rock" worlds will no doubt be interested in this album Play (Self-Released). As you can see by the cover image it is by the Pacific Harp Project, a nicely thought-out combination of harp (Megan Bledsoe Ward), vibes (Noel Okimoto), soprano sax (Todd Yukumoto) electric bass (Jon Hawes) and drums (Allan Ward).

The music is slightly reminiscent at times of the classic Gary Burton group in their later ECM days, with well done songcrafting (in this case songs by Ward, Okimoto, etc.) and then some that add singer Jamie Ward, and then finally arrangements for this ensemble of music originally composed for other instrumentation by Modern Classical composers (Salzedo, Faure) or not-so-Modern (Handel).

Ward is a very good harpist and one hears her with a happy ear if one loves such things. The rest of the band is very good as well.

The main thrust is the way everything mixes together and it is a listening that some of the smoothies and new agers might keep on if they heard yet there is substance here and this is not some kind of pablum for the musically challenged.

So you who dig the harp, check this out!