Chameleon CD Review

Black Sand Diva, 2009.

This is a delightful jazz gem all the way from our very own West Coast.

Cat Tunks, aka Black Sand Diva, heads up a combo of the same name, featuring one of my ex-students, Kiri-Maree Kainamu-Wheeler (keys/piano).
The music is classy, refreshing, original and enheartening.
The style is pretty accessible jazz, with a good dollop of Latin feel thrown in.

This is the band I saw that "fateful" night at Piha, and thoroughly enjoyed live.
On the night they played a wonderful song called Samba de Piha - live it was stunning, with some beautiful drum solos reverberant of the Piha surf both punctuating and backdropping the song, a gorgeous paean to a wonderful, timeless beach.
That song is on this collection, along with more delights to pick up, enjoy and cast back into the musical surf to be picked up again by others.

You could buy the disc as an easy listening hohummer for low-level converation, but that would be a disservice to the fine musicianship...

I strongly suggest you get yourself a good glass of red (full-bodied), find a place looking into the West, and let the evening and the music take you out and in on a full, sunset, moonlit, tide...for once!

10/10.