The debut album from New Zealand saxophonist/composer Jasmine Lovell-Smith and her Brooklyn based quintet, Towering Poppies.

Personnel:

Jasmine Lovell-Smith - soprano saxophone
Russell Moore - trumpet
Cat Toren - piano
Patrick Reid - bass
Kate Pittman - drums

Press:

“…dynamite debut album from newcomer Jasmine Lovell-Smith’s Towering Poppies…a chamber jazz collective with a melodic slightly astringent song-based direction…[Lovell-Smith is] A new compositional voice on the saxophone for sure going by early listens of Fortune Songs, watch out for this new name when the album hits.”
- Stephen Graham, Jazzwise/Freelance (UK)

“Debut album from soprano saxophonist Lovell-Smith, and I’m not sure she could’ve made a more impressive introduction. A quintet rounded out with trumpet, piano, drums, and bass. Tantalizing melodies, a deft use of dramatic tension, and tunes that nicely straddle the divide between new- and old-school jazz. I’m thrilled with this album, and happy to make it my Pick of the Week.”
- Dave Sumner, eMusic (17 dots)

“Soprano saxophonist Jasmine Lovell-Smith and her quintet have put together an outstanding collection of original jazz compositions on the debut album Fortune Songs…With a playing style inspired by the vocal styles of jazz greats like Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald, Lovell-Smith literally makes her sax sing—a style that’s perfectly complemented by the four fantastic musicians that round out the quintet.”
- Christian Williams, Utne Reader (Featured in the August Music Sampler)

“The eight Lovell-Smith originals that make up Fortune Songs don’t overheat with hard bopping numbers but rather, kept to a slow to mid-tempo cadence. That’s a tribute of the reflective nature of these songs, opting to subtly evoke moods in a thoughtful, deliberative manner, falling into the advanced modern area of the jazz spectrum”
-S Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews