From her first recordings in 1989, Judi Silvano has always been an adventurous improviser and yet Cloudwalking is quite a bit different. Ms. Silvano improvises a dozen free form yet melodic duets with guitarist Bruce Arnold while both musicians utilize electronics and effects tastefully and spontaneously. Nothing was added later on during mixing.The music is quite impressionistic with sound explorations and subtle surprises. The singer displays a wide range of notes and emotions while also making creative use of space and having an unhurried delivery. Bruce Arnold is right there with her, sometimes leading the way while at other times following her musical ideas with his own musical adventures.One should not come to Cloudwalking expecting swinging jazz but instead should be open to mood music that conveys an optimistic feeling.
Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene, February 2019
Silvano has been at the forefront of innovative jazz singing and as a gifted songwriter, Silvano has written words and music for all 10 songs heard here. These songs draw upon aspects of the composer’s own life and can be understood and appreciated by the listener who is thus far from being an outsider. Silvano’s sound is warm and mature, bringing to these songs depth and hints of melancholy that are counterbalanced by hope. Some of the lyrics are gently musing, some wryly witty; all show understanding of different aspects of the human condition. Without question, this singer-songwriter has succeeded in her ambitions for this excellent set of contemporary music.
Bruce Crowther, Jazz Journal UK
“Listen to This” is some beautiful, cosmic music created by two of the most inventive musicians on the scene today.
Joe Lovano, Grammy Winner and Berklee College Performance Chair
From the get-go “Listen to This” will shock jazz purists with the spacey effects on Arnold’s axe and the electronically harmonized multiple Silvano voices. But vocalist Judi Silvano’s phrasing, inflections, and improvisatory reactions and guitarist Bruce Arnold’s lush harmonies definitely reveal jazz’s genetic imprint.The definitive breakdown of musical categorization was delivered in 1962 by Duke Ellington: “There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind.” File this album in the Good Music section.
Steve Holtje, manager, ESP-Disk
Judi Silvano and Bruce Arnold have created their own world of altered guitar and vocal sounds. I really like the opening song, “Remembrances”, an otherworldly blues with Judi’s hip-notic vocals harmonized with subtle alien effects. It’s a sort of fairy-tale vibe, rather like a distant relative to J.A.’s “White Rabbit”. Ms. Silvano sounds a bit like Iva Bittova on the aptly titled “Space Lullaby”, charming and child-like at times. On “My Neighborhood” Mr. Arnold does a great job of providing sumptuous sonic soundscapes without playing any predictable single note jazz solos; his guitar sounds like an army of chanting monks as he plays those dark floating chords in the background.Whatever you do, you got to check out this one: “Great Plains”. There is something special going on here, completely enchanting with that great sly groove. This is followed by “Journey To Be Free”, another stunner with a rocking groove but no rhythm team. Just the guitar and voice.I didn’t expect this disc to be the most surprising gem of the month, but that it what it is.
Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
Brilliant. Love it; almost a Kraftwerk twist to it.
Rob Taylor nmblive.com
There’s one cardinal rule you must not forget, whether you’re a listener, or a listener who also reviews… be SURE you don’t allow any preconceptions to get in the way of your listening progress… I’ve reviewed Judi’s excellent vocal work many times in the past and Bruce’s guitar work is quite simply the stuff of legend around my review studio… If you check out earlier samples of these two musicians’ recordings, you’ll realize that what they are doing together is (significantly) different. On exploratory works like the oddly titled “Cats Are Watching”, the electronic effects used together with Judi’s scat just WAKE your spirit UP… I just LOVED this tune!…They move back to somewhat more familiar territory on “Complete Embrace” (Silvano’s tune) but with Bruce’s crispy little “bells” and superb synth sounds that compliment Judi’s silky smooth vocal very nicely… The tune clocks in at a full 9:35, so that gives them more than enough room to explore each others’ creative genius… This is a relatively simple tune that will transport you (by the end-note) to symphonic (and hallucinatory) bliss!The title track, “Listen To This”, is short (2:43), but there’s no doubt you’ll be flashing back to territory you thought you’d long left behind… if you’re like me, you’ll be hitting the replay button often on this one.It is the (almost) “spoken-word” cut, “Journey To Be Free”, that (easily) gets my vote for personal favorite of the dozen sonic adventures offered up, though. Hearing the transition from “out there” to “completely clear” on this tune will… help you realize that “different” is often “better”. I give this totally-talented duo a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.99 for this superbly performed set of adventurous music. Get more information at www.Muse-Eek.com/Judi-Silvano-Bruce-Arnold/
Dick Metcalf, editor, Contemporary Fusion Reviews
This is a great record by the American singer Judi Silvano, in a similarly minimal ensemble of her previous Indigo Moods trio recording. To accompany her in a kind of chamber jazz approach, is pianist Michael Abene who is rather known in the field of teaching and production. (For the last decade he has been the director of the WDR Big Band of Cologne in Germany and still teaches at KUG Jazz Institut Graz in Austria.) The two set to work to illustrate what is the “Songbook of Silvano”: this time there are no standards on the disc. It is the vision of life and love of the singer. She tells the stories in words in Make It in Classic, It’s So Amazing, Bougainvillea and Our World, while elsewhere uses only her vocal tones, leaving the listener to imagine the rest. These two musicians are navigating together and you notice clearly what they offer each other in the chord progressions of Abene or the melodies of the singer. Her voice is so clear and inventing something all time: the art of improvisation in its essence. The rhythms used are those of jazz, including a samba imagined and blues, which is always at the base of this music. Highlights are Kokopelli’s Dance, Calypso and the final Echo Cardio, made of notes that fade amid the ethereal voice of the singer. You realize as you arrive to the end that you have listened to a brave disc, which in its minimalist essence proposes what is really jazz: two artists of great skill improvising on their instruments and while making music are really telling their stories.
Vittorio Lo Conte (musiczoom.it)
MY DANCE, the newest album by American Jazz Vocalist Judi Silvano, is the eleventh in her discography and entirely devoted to her own music and lyrics in a duo performance. Judi’s voice, like an exotic butterfly, soars with the melodic line and merges with it. The word “dance” in the title is clearly not accidental, as the movement of her voice is a fascinating dance and in the lyrics to “Make it a Classic” she recalls writers, composers and dancers alike. The voice and talent of Judi Silvano is part of the beauty of her surroundings that she describes in “Our World”.
Leonid Auskern, (Jazz-square Russia, jazzquad.ru)
In 1950, Ella Fitzgerald and Ellis Larkins set a very high bar for vocal-piano duets. They explored Gershwin standards with the emphasis on ballads. Fitzgerald created heartfelt interpretations of the lyrics, while Larkins was tasteful and very supportive as an accompanist. The result was haunting and definitive renditions of gems.My Dance, a duet project by Judi Silvano and pianist Michael Abene, is a bit different. Rather than standards, they explore 11 of Silvano’s compositions, seven of which do not have lyrics. The music is not dominated by ballads, and the two artists are very much equals. Abene’s playing regularly challenges the singer, pushing her to stretch herself, particularly rhythmically. Fortunately, Silvano has the vocal chops and imagination to make this challenging program succeed.Starting with “Dust,” which finds her improvising off of a piano riff, she is able to create a steady stream of colorful ideas. Some of her wordless pieces, particularly the catchy “My Dance” and the soulful “KoKopelli’s Dance,” deserve lyrics that would permit them to catch on as future standards. Abene is consistently inventive and unpredictable. He never feels compelled to merely state the melody or chords, and one imagines that there are stretches where he not only kept listeners guessing but Silvano guessing, too. All in all, this is an intriguing set.
Scott Yanow, DownBeat Magazine
Judi Silvano is a singer whose work I have enjoyed for many years. Her 11th album as a leader, “My Dance” (on JSL Records) confirms that her vocal powers are intact and her imagination as free as ever. She is one of those singers who can animate an old pop song or even cross over into classical music. But, she has always been an adventurous improviser and remains one on her new CD. Silvano wrote all of the compositions, four have lyrics (which she also penned) and the others are wordless. “My Dance” is a duo album. All the piano work is by Mike Abene. He has a two-handed style and it would be wrong to consider him an accompanist. He is an equal collaborator. Silvano shows that her approach is just as free on her own pieces as when she is singing the Great American Songbook. If someone could tame “It’s So Amazing,” it could be a pop hit. Her “Calypso” is wilder than anything Harry Belafonte recorded. “Kokopelli’s Dance” is infectious with a Sarah Vaughan feel while “Echo Cardio” manages to be moving even without language.
By Barry Bassis (www.theepochtimes.com)