Robbins should be applauded for creating a meaningful program of music that showcases her work as a composer and performer, while also highlighting the ever-expanding role of the harp in jazz; Moraga is a real musical treat.
Carol Robbins has issued Moraga, and brought the whole affair back down to the ground where all and sundry can dance, fingersnap, head-bob, and bliss out as she dares more adventurous but still sumptuously beautiful terrain alongside a very capable band boasting Billy Childs on piano and Larry Koonse on guitar.
If one were to cite the instruments least likely to be utilized in jazz, the harp would be near the top. Well, fasten your seat belts: Carol Robbins is a harpist, composer and arranger, and Moraga, her newest album to date, is proof that this ethereal “horn‚” is, in her hands, fully capable of producing beautiful, swinging music.
Of the few jazz musicians who have played the harp, Dorothy Ashby (1932-1986) was one of the first to make any kind of impact. One of her students was Carol Robbins, who continues to this day to make the case for the harp in jazz, rather than just in classical, background, or mood music.
Carol Robbins: Moraga (2012) – By HRAYR ATTARIAN — On Carol Robbins’ Moraga—her fourth album as a leader— she follows in Ashby’s footsteps by bringing a unique voice not only to the harp but also to the music as a whole.
Robbins’ arrangement of Cole Porter’s standard, “Every Time We Say Goodbye,” is the highlight of the album. An original balladic piece to begin with, the voice of the harp makes this standard sound even more tender and soothing to the ear.
“Moraga” is essential listening that illustrates why Robbins deserves major props for her astonishingly beautiful musicianship and her durable, original compositions.
Carol Robbins plays jazz. And if you think the harp has no place in the jazz combo, think again. Even a cursory listen to her new CD, Moraga, will show you just how wrong you are. Jazz chops are in the player; not in the instrument.
Each of the thirteen scenes in this Jazz Play are economically presented, with various instrumental combinations that highlight the range of Robbins’ technique and her impressive improvisational ability.
The harp makes one of its rare appearances in jazz in the hands of Carol Robbins on Jazz Play. She also wrote several of the tunes on this recording and included some standards. And where does that place the music? Right in the mainstream, with some softer shades of what is known as contemporary jazz.