If we’re going out on a limb and calling the music that trombonist, vocalist, and songwriter Natalie Cressman makes—as soloist, as side-and-session person, in a duet setting with Brazilian guitarist Ian Faquini—“conversational,” we must describe what’s being said, what its tone implies, and how “conversation” itself signifies the ties that bind: in other words, family.
Let’s take Cressman and Faquini’s new album, Auburn Whisper, as an example. On “Already There,” the duo uses the convivial but intentional sotto voce that lovers do, playing off each other’s sense of calm and closeness. Cressman’s vocal is clarion-clear but there’s a quaver in it that makes it a perfect counterpart to the warm, relaxed breathiness of her trombone. Whether in multitracked harmony or solo, her brass playing is emotive and free, occasionally tough,…
