THE OUTSKIRTS OF A GIANT TOWN • Jenifer Jackson

You want an antidote for your craziness. Something you can turn on when you come home and hit a beautiful chill. Your car is here. And take one of these.

JJ's soothing voice is never saying listen to me; it's always saying listen to the music. I'm so grateful for that. Because when I'm listening to the music, I'm also listening to some little place inside myself that is breathing something so essential and so ignorable.

And the sweeping cavalier genius of producer Brad Jones is in full effect here, in the quiet majesty of the arrangements and the atmosphere. The gifted players are so in touch and so in tune with the music of Jenifer Jackson, whose tempo is unbound by time. Most or all have been with her on stage or studio whenever life allows for a number of years. The essence of their contributions is beyond words, because some occur in dimensions outside the corporeal.

Oren Bloedow's shimmering presence on guitar is a world unto itself. I've never heard him vault the ledge in JJ's music the way he does on "The Change," breathtaking. In fact, I find myself doing passes of this precious record concentrating on one player at a time, and following them down the unique traverse of their path through these tunes, and I'm learning from each of them. Sonny Barbato on Wurlitzer, organ, piano, and accordion, there's so much music under his hands. Pat Sansone on bass, melotron, vibes, and organ is a shape shifter. Greg Wieczorek (aka G-whiz) on drums and percussion is always at the right place at the right time, indispensable. He also sings, along with Oren and Pat, through the disc. The addition of Nate Walcott on trumpet and flugel horn is inspired.

The oriental ambience of the title track is a new flavor, fascinating. I truly get something I can feel from the music of this artist that I cannot do without, and am truly in awe of the truth of that.

I've said it before, many times, many ways. This artist should be huge, she's that good and more. I want to live in the world where she's a big star. In fact, I do live in that world. I'll meet you there, on The Outskirts of a Giant Town.
• Frank Goodman

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