The third collaboration between bassist Charnett Moffett and guitarist Jana Herzen, 2021's New Love finds the duo exploring an expansive and intimate, fusion-influenced sound. Both a creative and romantic partnership, Moffett and Herzen (who married in 2020) have been making music together since 2007's Passion of a Lonely Heart. That album featured Herzen's warm vocals, and found them reinterpreting a mix of jazz standards, along with Herzen's folky original songs. It was a style they further developed on 2020's Round the World, investigating compositions by Joni Mitchell and the Beatles. While New Love is very much a continuation of their partnership, it shines a light on bassist Moffett's progressive jazz roots and finds Herzen (primarily a singer/songwriter) pushing her guitar chops to new heights. While it's their core bass and guitar combination that drives the album, they also expand their sound, bringing along drummers Corey Garcia and Malick Koly, as well as saxophonist Irwin Hall. The record also finds Moffett taking to the mic and showcasing his gentle voice as he does on the vibrant title track. New Love has an engaging psych-rock influence that feels connected to bands like Mahavishnu Orchestra and the '70s work of artists like Pat Metheny and Larry Coryell. A technically adept acoustic and electric bassist, Moffett built his reputation playing hard-swinging post-bop with luminaries like Wynton Marsalis, Stanley Jordan, Kenny Garrett, and others. Focusing on the electric bass here and often playing the lead melody line, his playing has a lithe, joyous quality that brings to mind the work of bassists like Jaco Pastorius and Steve Swallow. Herzen follows suit, her electric hollow-body guitar dancing in ebullient tandem with Moffett's buoyant bass lines. Many of their songs have simple, lyrical melodies that they accent with delicate interplay. New Love is a joyously intimate album that feels like Moffett and Herzen are playing as much for each other as for the listener.
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