Haiku is "an 11-track rarity of pristine playing, beautiful vocals and original
compositions...Billie Holiday and Chet Baker, to name but two, are jazz legends whose
music you could close your eyes to and nod out blissfully in a deep groove without
actually having to use heroin (as they did). Haiku is in the same league....The
confluence of these originals, the languid Phillips style, the poly-rhythmic pianists of
Maybee, and the totally organic groove, makes one what to, yeah, just nod out in an
appreciative swoon.” — Mike Greenblatt, Classicalite.
"Much like the poetry from which it takes its name, there's a minimalist gravity to
Haiku...The album specializes in moments of fragile tension, with forlorn trumpet
whispers and delicately rendered vocal runs...A lush sonic landscape that captures the
music's nuance while allowing for ample acoustic space." — Brian Zimmerman,
DownBeat.
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Haiku is "an 11-track rarity of pristine playing, beautiful vocals and original
compositions...Billie Holiday and Chet Baker, to name but two, are jazz legends whose
music you could close your eyes to and nod out blissfully in a deep groove without
actually having to use heroin (as they did). Haiku is in the same league....The
confluence of these originals, the languid Phillips style, the poly-rhythmic pianists of
Maybee, and the totally organic groove, makes one what to, yeah, just nod out in an
appreciative swoon.” — Mike Greenblatt, Classicalite.
"Much like the poetry from which it takes its name, there's a minimalist gravity to
Haiku...The album specializes in moments of fragile tension, with forlorn trumpet
whispers and delicately rendered vocal runs...A lush sonic landscape that captures the
music's nuance while allowing for ample acoustic space." — Brian Zimmerman,
DownBeat.
"...a thrilling, intimate, very delicate dialogue...close to perfection." — Leonid
Auskern, Jazz Quad.
“...eloquent and heart-stopping...an otherworldly simpatico...there is a superb and
almost balletic dancing that takes place. It’s as if the music melts into dance and this
results in a dizzying and beautiful interplay that is riveting...among the most sincere
and poised accounts of song that a duo have produced in a long time.” — Raul Da
Gama, Jazz Da Gama.
"[Nick Phillips'] albums as a trumpeter show that he is a thoughtful improviser with a
unique approach to creative music...What makes this album [Haiku] different is his
collaborator, Jenny Maybee, who is equally talented as a vocalist and pianist. Maybee
sings on seven of the album’s eleven tracks, and her unique style seems fairly sedate
on the surface, but is capable of sudden intensity whenever the music demands. These
qualities make Maybee a great partner for Phillips, whose moody trumpet
improvisations frequently take unexpected turns...[Haiku's] understated mix of vocals
and instrumentals should appeal to jazz fans of both genres." — Thomas Cunniffe, Jazz
History Online.
HAIKU “wouldn’t be totally out of place on an ECM record, as thoughtfully curious
piano, full-bodied bass, and warm-toned trumpet embrace the art of unhurried
exploration.” Overall, Haiku is “an album that values heart over head and beauty over
brawn, pointing to the fact that Nick Phillips has found an artistic soul mate in Jenny
Maybee.” — Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz.
The album is "loaded with art while avoiding pretentiousness. The kind of set you
want to listen to late at night when you aren't in a melancholy mood, it certainly
brings a new kind of special sauce to the proceedings. Intimate in a 50s kind of old
school way where there's just three players kicking it out in real time, the target
audience for this set will really take it to heart." — Chris Spector, Midwest Record.
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