Best of 2016 #12: Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom – “Otis Was A Polar Bear” (Royal Potato Family)

Well, if Bird is the Worm were to name an annual Musician of the Year as part of the year-end wrap-up, Allison Miller would likely earn the title for 2016.  The drummer put out an excellent new album with her Honey Ear Trio (go read about it) and an even better album with her trio Lean (go read about it).  And then there’s Otis Was A Polar Bear, the outstanding new release from her Boom Tic Boom sextet.  This is an album that possesses a lyricism straight out of a fairy tale, where wondrous imagery and a storybook delivery both reflect the imaginative vision that drives this session.  At times, the music is deviously whimsical and at others, the music enters a state of melodicism that is undeniably enchanting.  The sextet generates a sound that suggests an ensemble greater than just six, yet the music retains an intimate quality.  One of the very best things to come out in 2016, and one of the very best things that Miller has created to date.

Jazz from Brooklyn, NY.

Read more about the album at Bird is the Worm (LINK).