''Alien Left Hand'' is the second album by British jazz pianist

Janette Mason Janette Mason is a British jazz pianist, arranger, composer and record producer. Three of her albums have received four-starred reviews in ''The Guardian'' and her second album, ''Alien Left Hand'', was nominated for the Parliamentary Jazz Awards ...

. It was released on 26 January 2009 by Fireball Records and features

Julian Siegel Julian H. Siegel (born 1966 in Nottingham) is a British jazz saxophone and clarinet player, and a composer and arranger, described by MOJO Magazine as "One of the UK's most creative saxophonists" Siegel has toured and recorded with Greg Cohen an ...

on saxophone, Tom Arthurs on trumpet and Lea DeLaria on vocals.

Reception

John Fordham, in a four-starred review for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', said: "Mason came out of the session shadows in 2005 with her fine Din and Tonic album, and Alien Left Hand develops that set's cross-genre vision, infectious grooving, clever composing and audacious improvisations". Clive Davis, in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', said: "A foil to that raucous stand-up-turned-singer Lea DeLaria, Mason is a forceful pianist in her own right. The Partisans saxophonist Julian Siegel adds a punch to an infectious and intelligent set. The no-nonsense pulse of Four Wheel Drive gets business off to a brisk start. Mason knows better than to outstay her welcome; her solos are succinct and cliché-free, Josh Giunta's crisp drumming giving her ample support". John Bungey, in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', said: "Mason has a sharp ear for melodic improvisation. Her compositions veer from cross-genre workouts to two plangent ballads. An imaginative cover of Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams is a standout." Daryl Easlea, for BBC Music, described ''Alien Left Hand'' as "a graceful and often surprising piano-based work that will further enhance the reputation of Janette Mason... {whose] arrangement skills are exemplary. Nothing here is over-egged, and all solos economically underline the players' talents... What strikes you most is Alien Left Hand's pacing, for, even in its quietest moments, it seldom drags. For something new, punchy and accessible with an appropriate measure of funk, blues and jazz, this is worth seeking out." ''Alien Left Hand'' was nominated for the

Parliamentary Jazz Awards The Parliamentary Jazz Awards in the United Kingdom are organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG) at the Houses of Parliament in London. The group consists of over a hundred members drawn from across the UK politica ...

in 2010.

Track listing

All tracks written by

, except where noted. # "Wheel Drive" – 7:10 # "The Blues Walked Out" – 5:09 # " Sweet Dreams" (

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...

) – 8:09 # "Mae's Song" – 6:45 # "Dominatrix" – 6:11 # "NY Cab Ride" – 7:03 # "Some Other Time" (

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

) – 6:12 # "Alien Left Hand Syndrome" – 5:10

Personnel

* Janette Mason – piano,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, keyboards * Lea DeLaria – vocals *

– saxophones * Josh Giunta – drums * Tom Arthurs – trumpet

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Janette Mason albums