Far from the pain and misfortune that someone would experience while literally walking on eggshells, Quinn Sternberg’s modern jazz opus is a mesmerisingly groovy and lackadaisical piece of instrumental arrangements that any fan would revel in. Mixing a slick electric guitar with a brooding and slow moving saxophone, Sternberg takes you through eight distinct arrangements that each breathe and carry a life of their own. Opening with the titular piece, he immediately immerses you in the world of his own, both laidback and suave as hell.
I find myself just so wholly enraptured and involved while grooving through this record, a thoroughly explorative collection of jazz tunes that blend seamlessly into one another, flowing with a level of delicacy and purpose that commands your attention but also allows you to detach and focus when need be. It’s the perfect soundtrack to go about your day, keeping you in a good mood throughout while letting you simply enjoy the highs of each piece as they reach their moments of crescendo.
Crisp and cathartic, Walking on Eggshells doesn’t really feel like eight distinct pieces to me at least. It moves from one to the other so seamlessly and poignantly that each track feels like a section of a larger collective that is the album at large. Sternberg’s talent for composition is remarkably pronounced here, with each of these sections conveying a different emotional spark but maintaining a level of tonal and sonic consistency to piece the puzzle together wonderfully.
A mesmerising record for any jazz or instrumental enthusiasts.