Open Door: So Close to Beautiful

Suppose this group’s name, Open Door, represented the entryway to a building that symbolizes their second album So Close to Beautiful. A walk inside would reveal rooms filled with all types of musical styles. The new age sitting room (“Someone to Love”, “Glow”, “I’m Here”) might comfortably segue into the pop in the living room (“Let Down”), the rock in the hallway (“Confused”), the bedroom’s R&B (“Entertain You”), and the jazz riffs wafting in from the kitchen (“Neptune”, “Where You Are”). And since none of the doors to these rooms are closed, sounds would blend together, like the saxophone solo in the visionary “I’m Here”, or the turntable scratches mixed into the blues of “Entertain You”. There would be space for tunes that recall Michael McDonald and James Ingram (see “Good Thing”). There would be a room for David Bowie — check out Open Door’s delectable cover of “DJ”. Open Door — consisting of Vickie Bell, Peter Adams, and Ray Grappone — offers an amalgam of sounds and textures beneath one roof. Count on more treasures when guests are invited: Elsa Cornish on background vocals, Dana Jared taking the lead on “Good Thing”, Jonathan Moran (bass) and Matthew Cusick (guitar) on “DJ”, Alix Alvarez working the turntables, and Jeff Leonard working the sax.