By Kerilie McDowall | Published March 2019
The nine tracks on Amanda Ekery’s sophomore album, Keys With No Purpose, lyrically explore stereotypes inherent in modern-day jazz culture, critiquing sexual harassment and objectification, as well as its general acceptance. The 24-year-old’s writings are drawn from interviews conducted with four young female performers, Ekery’s own experiences and stories in the press, including coverage of the 2017 scandal at Berklee College of Music.
Ekery’s ethereal scatting floats above piano tremolo within her impressive compositions, as on “Skeleton Key,” where the interplay between Ekery, her ensemble and playful pianist Andrew Boudreau segues into the merger of fluid bass and drums with colorful vibraphone. Cynical “Here We Go Again” emotes the upside-down turmoil felt by recurring sexist comments and harassment, and Ekery creates impressionistic sonic portraits of cruel male behavior with “What’s What.”
The bandleader’s melodious earworm “I Don’t Know,” a catchy country-swing pop song, displays her natural inclination for inventive compositional moves and popular genres. The creative-pop title track, “Keys With No Purpose,” grieves over the jazz industry’s empty rewards, leading to dissonant improvisation from the ensemble.
Ekery leaves dark shadows behind while optimistically moving forward with the pop-jazz finale, “Everybody’s Talkin’,” leaving hope just over the horizon.
Keys With No Purpose: Skeleton Key; Here We Go Again; What’s What; I Don’t Know; Driftwood; Skeleton Key Reprise; Attractive Doorways; Keys With No Purpose; Everybody’s Talkin’. (34:12)
Personnel: Amanda Ekery, Sam Jones, Monica Pabelonio, vocals; Andrew Boudreau: piano; Miranda Agnew, trumpet; Nathan Reising, alto saxophone; Eric Stilwell, trombone; Amanda Chi, cello; Julian Loida, vibraphone, percussion; Aaron Holthus, bass; Marcelo Perez, drums.
