Album Review | 'Soul Vacation' 

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Since leaving the quartet Folkfaces, with its punk energy-meets-old-timey Americana sound, Buffalonian sax player Ellen Pieroni has leaned into more idiomatic music for her instrument, bolstered by her more-than-capable backing band The Encyclopedia of Soul.

Pieroni’s first album since going solo, last year’s “The Encyclopedia of Soul Vol. 1,” was an exuberant calling card that delivered what its title advertised. Pieroni and her crew pick up where they left off with her sophomore release, “Soul Vacation,” released on Aug. 30.

The title track is a silky mélange of soul, jazz and funk. A sense of optimism pervades guitarist Adam Bronstein’s “Lonely No More” and Pieroni’s “Everything Is There.”

“Pocket Man” is unfettered funk, with Pieroni’s sax solo finding an ideal balance of tasteful and playful that can be heard throughout the nine cuts on “Soul Vacation.” In other words, Pieroni has great musical intuition, looking to play what serves the song best rather than peppering the arrangements with busy runs that might dilute the chemistry between the melody and the rhythm.

Perhaps most importantly, each song has a dynamic arc, meaning the tunes rarely end in the same mood with which they begin. It’s especially true of Pieroni’s take on the 1972 Stevie Wonder song “I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever),” which starts conventionally as a ballad before picking up steam and morphing into a funky freak-out featuring the commanding vocals of Alex McArthur.

As a collection, the mostly instrumental “Soul Vacation” throws back to the ’70s with what could easily be categorized as “easy listening.” But this isn’t elevator music. Pieroni and company play it fresh, with a wide-eyed approach that revels in the groove, first and foremost. And the big, brassy melodic hooks are undeniable.

Daniel J. Kushner is an arts writer at CITY. He can be reached at [email protected].