Detroit veteran indie rocker Chris Plum (Mood Elevator, Brendan Benson and the Wellfed Boys) embarks on a new adventure with his jazz album debut, The Small Hours. The record finds Plum, a lifelong fan of mid-century nightclub jazz combos and crooners (as well as a show tune or ten), to have evolved into a genre-flexing songwriter and blue balladeer.
Retained in this collection are all of the catchy musical phrases, harmonies, lyrical humor and sincerity of his indie rock days. Self-produced and recorded at his home studio with Zach Shipps (RV Audio Lab), Plum called upon the talents of old bandmates, Detroit jazz scene veterans, and local students to bring his songs and sonic vision to life, resulting in a rich, fun and sophisticated work.
2023 will see a vinyl release and live dates with Plum’s ensemble which includes Aric Karpinski on piano, Keith Malinowski on bass, Jeff Hupp on drums, and Hayden Cusmano on guitar, Kristin von Bernthal and Korin Visocchi on backup vocals, and Aaron Snyder and Quentin Jensen on brass. Additional players may include Oliver Mayman on vibraphone, Tracy Kash on flute, and Gibron Lockhart on trumpet.
Tracy Kash began her musical life as a classical musician. She received a Bachelor’s degree from University of North Texas- and a Master’s degree from the venerable Boston Conservatory, in orchestral music and music theory. Tracy is an accomplished flutist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and pianist. Tracy has composed for and performed with a variety of ensembles in and around the Detroit area, including Pebble Creek Chamber Orchestra, Theatre Bizarre Orchestra, Nighthawks Jazz Orchestra and her own soul ensemble, Tracy Kash and the Bro’ Fos. Her 4th studio album, Fierce, was nominated for a 2020 Detroit Music Award for Outstanding World Music Recording. Her previous releases were also nominated for Detroit Music Awards and her 2010 release, “Sound Truth” was chosen as one of the “Top 10 of 2010” by the Detroit MetroTimes culture magazine. She is currently collaborating with award-winning poet Diane DeCillis on creating a musical of the absurd. She has also written companion music for the historical novel “Remembrance”, by Heather Buchanan and inspired by the Harlem Hellfighters during World War I. Most recently she was recognized with a 2021 Detroit Music Award for Outstanding World Vocalist.