House Ghosts is an album that takes you on a ride, a journey across times, places, and feelings through a form of jazz music that incorporates a host of different styles and genres. The multi-instrumentalist from rural Pennsylvania, Adam Price, does find the root of his music style in his birth place. But on his latest album, the style that he gravitates towards is far more free flowing and diverse than this original work. Starting with the frenzied ‘Mzungu’, Price takes you down a journey that often feels like you’re hearing something far more indigenous to South America than anything else. It’s a predominantly instrumental record that basks in its own diversity, capable of delivering so much depth and style through its constant genre switches and interplay.
For instance, after the almost tribal esque frenetic energy on ‘Mzungu’, you move towards an emotively performed ballad called ‘Chameleon Colored Eyes’. Carried by a scintillatingly compelling vocal performance, this rather old school, Sinatra inspired piece starts to incorporate the wonderful arrangements that Price delivers towards the middle. Throughout the project, what you’ll find is constant is Price’s ability to pen down melodies that retain a worldly feel but a haunting sensation. He notes that ‘House Ghosts’ is sort of a culmination project, something that represents the full summation of his world travels and incorporates the styles, sounds, and cultures of these localities.
There are base notes that keep you hooked throughout, with a flurry of additional sprinkles layered all over that make you ascend to new heights as you embark on this expedition with this remarkably compiled piece of worldly jazz music.