Thursday, November 21, 2024

Not Much Fun from Ginetta and her Vendetta

Cover of the album being discussed (from its Amazon.com Web page)

This morning I had my first encounter with Ginetta M., described in June 29, 2015 by Jazz Times as a “triple threat female power-house.” The three “tines” of that threat are singing, composing, and leading a band called Ginetta’s Vendetta in which she plays pocket trumpet. The latest release by that ensemble is the album Fun Size, which, according to its Amazon.com Web page, was first available for MP3 download this past June and (according to another source) is due for “physical” release this coming Sunday. (Presumably, this is when the option will be added to the Web page.)

Having listened to this album several times, I have to confess that I found nothing particularly “threatening.” More often than not, her sense of pitch tends to be a “sometime things,” whether it involves her vocals or her trumpet work. Her band is a quintet with Danny Walsh on the front line playing both tenor and soprano saxophones. Rhythm is provided by Jon Davis on piano, drummer Marcello Pellitteri, and Belden Bullock on bass. Personally, when Davis is given enough space to improvise, I found a fair amount of satisfaction in listening; but everything else about this album left me cold.

No comments: