Cosmic

Dwight Trible's voice sometimes recalls singers like Leon Thomas and Joe Lee Wilson. On 2011’s Cosmic, the L.A.-based vocalist is backed by a fine group (pianist John Beasley, bassist Trevor Ware, and drummer Dexter Story), along with several other musicians. The album’s warm vibe is established on the opener, “Speak to Us of Love.” After reciting verse from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, Trible’s swooping and soaring vocals are accompanied by impressionistic sounds that include kalimba and Munyungo Jackson’s percussion. “I’ve Known Rivers” features a recitation by Ujazi Calomee of the Langston Hughes poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and Beasley’s Fender Rhodes shimmers nicely. On the piano-and-voice duet “Little Africa,” Beasley is full of small surprises as he interacts with Trible’s booming voice. The vocal and instrumental contributions of Algerian musician Djamel Laroussi bring a decidedly North African feel to “Algeriangeles.”