Arranger, composer, keyboardist, guitarist, vocalist and Berklee College of Music educator Suzanne Dean has released a prodigious new release entitled, Come to Paradise. A defying genre boundaries project with a fresh, inventive world-jazz acoustic sound. Come to Paradise is a collection of six originally penned compositions by Dean. The music shuffles a wide-range of influences and Dean’s unconventional compositions are refreshingly uncategorizable and infectious. Ranging from an African inspired piece with lyrics in Zulu, to songs indicative of acoustic folk music from the ‘60s and ‘70s, as well as jazz and contemporary singer/songwriter style, the sum of the total adds up to a refreshing listen of a journey through well-crafted songs.

 

The album features Nicole Zuraitis on vocals, and a number of seasoned LA session musicians, which include: Rich Ruttenberg on keyboards, Nicole Zuraitis as the lead singer, Trey Henry on bass, Dean Parks on guitar, Casey Scheuerell on drums, Scott Breadman as the percussionist, John Daversa on trumpet, Bob Sheppard on soprano Sax and Suzanne Dean lending background vocals and ukulele. Come to Paradise shows off a cohesive group sound and a unifying solidarity that takes most groups years to develop. Conveying a spirit that shines through the music, that is spirited and natural and knowing this, Dean composes music that takes full advantage of each player’s individual strengths and collective identity to forge an entirely singular sound.

 

The opener “Come to Paradise” marries acoustic folk and contemporary singer/songwriter elements. Fueled by Dean’s driving ukulele strumming and Breadman’s swirling cymbal work, the result is an electric groove that finds Zuraitis’ clear vocals conveying the melody and storyline with confidence and excellent diction. Dean displays her strong solo chops with a fine ukulele solo followed by Ruttenberg’s melodic piano solo. Although the solos are excellent, Dean’s compositional focus is on storytelling rather than soloing, the emotional rather than the cerebral. The lyrics and melody and overall setting of this selection is an elegant, buoyant, pop-inspired tune; almost a radio-friendly pop song at times.

 

The funk pulse of “Dance the Night Away” gives this selection an enjoyable backdrop for Zuraitis’ breezy, optimistic laid-back melodicism, with Scheuerell and Henry conjuring a robust, elastic bass and drums neo-soul vibe. Dean has certainly found collaborators who are as open-eared and adventurous as she is. The result is a toe tapping musical adventure. The vocal harmonies and backgrounds on this selection are very enjoyable and the ending finds Zuraitis doing some excellent vocal fills full of emotion and the blues, showing her wide ranging vocal chops. Parks plays a well packed energetic guitar solo that also adds to the musical success of this track.

 

“Ngizohamba,” the closing selection, is an African inspired composition with A cappella vocals set to percussion, sung with lyrics in Zulu, that serve as an homage to African wildlife. The vocal harmonies are excellent and sung with clear diction. Breadman’s percussion playing is very authentic to the style and captures the African rhythmic sense perfectly. This is a perfect closer to a set of music that is diverse in style but singular in artistic merit.

 

Overall, Come to Paradise may offer a mix of styles, but one that is purely enjoyable. Dean’s expertise as a composer weaves each tune into an overall journey of excellence, and certainly is a wholly calling card for this veteran composer.