An album released by Sam Hankins brings out an array of both smooth, subtle, and vivacious tones all riddled with his amazing trumpet talents and soaked in a jazz undertone that at times, gives off this cinematic and robust feel and approach but each song on this record seems to have its own sort of character to it and this is something I really adore about the record.
The Alright album features collaborations with different singers and performers that all have a hand to lend in this amazingly Lush and full-bodied set of songs and with a lot of these songs comes such heavy-handed grooves that you just can't help but move when you listen to them.
The album delivers smooth and alluring jazz performances and blends instrumentation so incredibly well that the whole thing comes through with its own atmosphere and it's very easy to fall right into this atmosphere because it feels good to just groove with it.
I love that he does trumpet harmonies and brings in R&B-touched elements throughout the record because while you listen to this release, you get the feeling that he has been around music his entire life, and after looking into it a little bit more, I found that he was.
With a father who played harmonica and vocals in different groups, a brother who plays piano, and a maternal grandmother who played piano as well but was also an outstanding gospel singer, Sam has been surrounded and engulfed by amazing musical Talent since he was a child and all of these elements are part of what brought him to get his bachelor's degree in music performance and release such beautifully woven records.
Being able to get all these different performers on the record and collaborate with them adds a lot of layers to the release and showcases his ability to perform and write in these different genres and styles.
This is one of my favorite aspects of the album. It's got an eclectic approach but there is this glue that holds it all together and that glue is Sam himself.
The record is a mix of instrumental pieces and ones with amazing vocals but either way, you get this almost classic jazz live-on-the-floor energy where the players are sort of feeding off of each other the entire time and whether I'm right or wrong about the whole live on the floor thing, you just get this electric energy from the record and that is very infectious and it also makes you want to go see them perform live.
The level of musicianship across this record is astounding and this was laid out, and performed with loads of heart from people who have a pure love for their craft and that is the sense that you get from listening to this record from beginning to end which by the way, is the way to do it.
Listening to one or two tracks from this record does not give you the full range of spectrum that it actually has to offer and missing out on that would just be a shame so do yourself a favor, and listen to this record all the way through because you'll have a great time doing it.
If you're driving in the car, you'll be shaking your butt in your seat. If you're listening at home, you'll be grooving around the living room.
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