Connor Sablan is a pianist hailing from Guam, now based in the Bay Area after moving to San Mateo in 2014. Immersed in the rich musical history of the Bay Area during his jazz studies at the College of San Mateo — and through experimentation with post-bop sounds, he brings a fun, uptempo sound that’s filled with pizzazz in every nook. On his latest project, “Hot Pot”, he presents a fiesta of melodies that do not fail to entertain — keep reading for my thoughts!
The 10-track opus explores influences from bossa nova to classical jazz — and right from the opener, “Dreams of Clouds”, he brings his skills on the piano to the fore, layering the well-punctuated chords with tender, beautifully crafted melodic lines, laying a solid foundation to the rest of the album. As “Hot Pot” starts stirring with “Wakin’ Up, Pt.1”, the influences of jazz and blues become stronger with the mellotrons and the brasses in the background, the energy picks up aptly — and we’re left bobbing our heads to the smooth-flowing, playful nature of the music.
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All this happens while Connor shows off, quite effortlessly, his virtuosity with the pianos — every note struck is deliberate, the expressiveness shows in the playing, and the sense of evolution in the music makes for an organic, back-to-roots listening experience that still retains excellent levels of experimentation throughout.
The second part of “Wakin’ Up” takes forward the motifs laid down in the prequel — only this time, the woodwinds are in focus as they slide up and down registers with much aplomb — and a welcome surprise are the vocals, which are soulful and beautifully executed. The lyrics are optimistic, motivating, and make for quite the addition to the existing perfection on show here.
As the “Hot Pot” boils further, the aroma of tracks like “he Has Become A Very Great Threat”, the midpoint in the album, leave lingering; this time adopting a rather theatrical sound with the percussion, the drama runs high and flows superbly on this track — all while retaining a sense of serenity in the foundation — all until the brasses pick up the energy, turning the theatrics up to eleven. “Nightmare And The Starship” brings a distinctly ethereal, dreamy spacey sound with the synth pads in the background, while the synths hold the main melody together — and do so with a technical precision and flair that’s worth the smile it brings.
The mixing and mastering on this album is par excellence — with outstanding staging and even better sound design — the choices sound deliberate, and are delivered straight into the deepest reaches of your soul, like the well-cooked recipe it is.
As we bid adieu to “Hot Pot”, the takeaway is that Connor Sablan is a musician of talents aplenty — from his effortlessness in bringing together classical music and jazz influences with samba, his experimentation with meters and musical motifs, and his flawless execution of this project does leave one thinking — what’s to come next?
Take a listen to “Hot Pot” here!
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