ShaShaty: Brighter Day

It’s a new dawn for veteran contemporary jazz saxophonist ShaShaty. His first collection comprised entirely of original songs in more than a decade, the set showcases the artist who had a hand in writing seven of the disc’s 11 songs that were produced by guitarist-vocalist Steve Oliver, writer or co-writer of ten songs for the record.
The energizing excursion “Dream Ride” is really cool. The power-packed pop gems that comprise “Brighter Day” also have depth and provide a varied listening experience that audaciously ventures into funky hip hop territory (“Let’s Go”), explores an off-kilter staccato rhythm (“Late On 91”), mines an Indian motif (“Mumbai”), serves a sublime sax and guitar call-and-response chorus (“August”), romances on amorous overtures (“My Heart Yours” and “I’m Always Near”), takes off on a whimsical flight of fancy (“Brighter Days”) and closes with a blissful meditation (“Float Away”).
Every now and then an artist will jump up and put together a collection of tunes both memorable and timeless. ShaShaty has laid down a complete collection of really strong songs on his latest album.
A really strong collection of tunes!