Beautiful Sunshine Band Archive

Cory Healey’s Beautiful Sunshine Band – Beautiful Sunshine – Shifting Paradigm

by Audiophile Audition | Jun 15, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

Forecast calls for modern jazz which traverses many influences. Cory Healey’s Beautiful Sunshine Band – Beautiful Sunshine [TrackList follows] Shifting Paradigm SP-117, 58:06 [4/17/16] ****: (Cory Healey – drums, electronics, AM radio; Erik Fratzke – electric bass; Zacc Harris – guitar; Jake Baldwin – trumpet; Brandon Wozniak – tenor saxophone) With a band and an album title called Beautiful Sunshine, listeners might expect covers of Stevie Wonder’s “You Are My Sunshine” or the standard “Smile.” But drummer/composer Cory Healey is just having some fun. This isn’t overtly bright material, but rather modern, comprehensive instrumental jazz which melds bebop, free jazz, ambient moments, rock, indie pop and more. This is music which swerves like a car on an icy road, sometimes in a straight line and sometimes veering wildly. Healey explains, “The name Beautiful Sunshine is tongue in cheek, considering how dark some of the pieces get. The overall theme is that the music is approached with a sense of humor and playfulness.” The story goes that on a cold, April 2014 evening Healey and his new band were performing at a Minneapolis venue, and he decided his group should have a name like “Unique Beautiful Snowflake.” An audience member asked […]