The chromatic harmonica is an instrument still finding its footing in modern jazz recordings. Parisian-born harmonicat Yvonnick Prené makes a convincing case for it on his new recording, Listen!. Along with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, who also produced the recording, Prené is joined by saxophonist Dayna Stephens, pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Clovis Nicolas and drummer Bill Stewart in a collection of originals alongside evergreens from Miles Davis, and other standards, and in the hands of Prene, as Jeremy Pelt says, "when I close my eyes, I hear Yvonnick Prené singing."
From Monday, Jan. 2 through Friday, Jan. 6, one cut from Prené’s Listen! album will be featured each morning on the New Day, New Play spotlight on my Daybreak show.
Listen to “Seven Steps to Heaven” from Listen!, above.
