Review: Steve Okonski, known since 2022 under the shortening Okonski, is a scholar of the hard and soft knocks of American soul, having served so far as the in-house pianist for the brilliant hip-hop and soul quintet Durand Jones & The Indications. Three years on from his dazzling debut solo record Magnolia, this entrancing follow-up hears Okonski team up again with his fellow Durand Jones collaborators Aaron Frazer and Michael Isvara. This is a properly twilled, blissful, piano-led jazz opus, best defined in the auctorial fells of 'October', the seasonal builds of 'Summer Storm' and/or the yearning love objects 'Dahlia' and 'Penny'.
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