Suresh Singaratnam: Lost in New York

Suresh Singaratnam’s Lost in New York is an experiment in jazz that is too classically-influenced to be called truly experimental. This record resembles a more intelligent and composed musical analog to the jazzier works of Yoko Kanno, the prolific composer for Japanese animation titles like Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell. Don’t consider that a negative comparison; Singaratnam’s work is stellar here, finely walking a line between jazz and classical penumbras, and proceeding, without much fusion, to wax into swing. The album doesn’t particularly feel like New York, at least not in a Birdland sort of way, but it does dizzy us through some dark and seedy place. However, Lost in New York weakens when it breaks for vocals, feeling far too seasonal rather than maintaining its city-at-night ambience.