Sacred Hearts (Le Coq Records)
Rick Margitza
Released February 21, 2021
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2021
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About:
More than 15 years after his last release as a leader, saxophonist Rick Margitza makes his long-awaited return with the captivating new album Sacred Hearts, due out February 5, 2021 via Le Coq Records. The deeply personal album takes stock of the joys and tragedies that have unfolded over the last decade and a half, with new compositions dedicated to those lost along the way as well as the new life that has come into being.
Track Listing:
1. Truth Be Told (Rick Margitza) 07:29
2. The Place to Be (Rick Margitza) 07:43
3. Sacred Heart (Rick Margitza) 03:26
4. Muse (Rick Margitza) 10:32
5. Crying (Rick Margitza) 03:27
6. 12-123 (Rick Margitza) 10:25
7. Leading Lady (Rick Margitza) 03:23
8. Far From Home (Rick Margitza) 08:24
9. Trails of Tears (Rick Margitza) 04:17
10. Country Mike (Rick Margitza) 11:02
11. Poem (Rick Margitza) 04:51
Personnel:
Rick Margitza: tenor and soprano saxophones
Manuel Rocheman: piano
Peter Giron: bass and vocals (track 8)
Jeff Boudreaux: drums
Oliver Louvel: guitars, banjo
Xavier Desandre Navarre: percussion
Chloe Cailleton: vocals
Pierre de Bethmann: vocals
Eleanor, Karen and Doris Margitza, Renee Bandy, Danielle Kobalsy, Elissia Ziga, Chelsea Rigo, Leslie Ballog: adult handclaps and vocals (track 6)
Tatum, Bronson and Dallas Kobolsky, Addisson and Ella Ziga,
Noah and Bailey Vahosky, Evan Bandy, Luke and Adam Figueroa,
Leo Shandor, Sophia and Paul Torosian: kids handclaps and vocals (track 6)
Recorded at Pennisula Studios-Sarzeau, France, by Jonathan Marcoz and Alex Tassel
Produced by Rick Margitza
Executive Producer: Piero Pata
Mixed by Joshua Connolly
Mastered by Bernie Grundman
Review:
Early in his career, saxophonist Rick Margitza worked with percussionist Airto Moreira and vocalist Flora Purim, the legendary Brazilian couple known for their boundary-pushing, pan-ethnic jazz. With 2021’s Sacred Hearts, Margitza builds upon that formative experience, creating something that feels equally free of musical boundaries. His first studio album in over 15 years and his second since moving to France, Sacred Hearts is a warm and lushly arranged production that evokes the cosmopolitan jazz sound of film composers like Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin, and Michel Legrand. The release follows his 2004 recording Bohemia and again finds him embracing a sophisticated mix of modern post-bop, Latin jazz, Brazilian bossa nova, and other global traditions. Margitza, who also produced, is joined here by pianist Manuel Rocheman, guitarist Olivier Louvel, bassist Peter Giron, and drummer Jeff Boudreaux. He also employs a chorus of singers, who along with Margitza and his band create the breezy aura of a romantic 1960s film soundtrack. It’s a vibe reminiscent of such classic films as A Man and a Woman and The Thomas Crown Affair, but one that never sounds overtly retro or dated. On the contrary, Margitza’s music feels contemporary and organic, with the vocal harmonies working as a nuanced framework for his sophisticated and swinging instrumental jazz melodies. Intriguing elements pop up throughout, like on the aptly titled “12-123,” in which Margitza and co. clap and count out the song’s odd time signature. Similarly, on the pining “Truth Be Told,” Margitza pairs his dusky sax lines with wordless vocals, Jew’s harp, and sundry percussion accents. Equally engaging is the beachy title track, a slow Latin piece that brings to mind the work of artists like Antônio Carlos Jobim and Elis Regina. We also get the warm, afterglow bossa nova ballad “Crying” and the groovy funk of “Country Mike.” With Sacred Hearts, Margitza has made a contemporary jazz album without stylistic boundaries, but one with deep global roots.
Matt Collar (AllMusic)
