Following recent commissions from the Opera companies of Los Angeles, St. Louis and Seattle, composer & pianist Jack Perla decided here to step out in an entirely different direction. Gathering top Bay-area and NY R&B, jazz and indie-rock musicians, Perla guides them through 14 of his modern original songs. Life changes of his past few years are reflected in the sinister funk of "Swimming Upstream," or the haunting "Lilacs," with the distinctive and powerful voices of Jordan Carp, Crystal Monee Hall, and Robin Coomer featured throughout.
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David Arend
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Jack Perla
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Jason Slota
​REVIEWS OF ENORMOUS CHANGES

Midwest Record (Chris Spector)
A very personal album from a cat that has had his share of enormous changes over the last few years, Perla takes a break from his opera world commissions and heads back to late 60s jazz rock for a mental and spiritual cleansing that finds him right in the pocket of pre-fusion where the seeds were being sown. This feels much like the kind of post civil rights jazz "Stan" Clarke was recording for Polydor prior to Return to Forever coming together. Perla has the chops to make this a smart journey through the past whether he intended it that way or not.

KUCI, Irvine, CA (Hobart Taylor)
Jazz songs, originals, with the wit and charm of Joni Mitchell and the pop precision of Sting. ...

Improvijazzation Nation (Rotcod Zzaj)
The fourteen all-original tunes from Jack prove beyond all shadow of doubt that he is far more than "just a piano player from San Francisco"… tunes like the splendid high-energy opening title track, "Enormous Changes", feature some excellent jazz vocal work, and propel you into lovely spaces that are reminiscent of shows like "Hair" (for this old reviewer, at least). What really sets Perla apart from all the other jazzers is his diversity... listen to the driving bass & guitar on "Swimming Upstream" to hear what I mean... Jack's music will "stick in your head" for days (if not months or years) to come!

​It was the gentle mood created by the beautiful "Lilacs" that captured my vote for personal favorite of this release, though... the singer will invade your spirit and hold your attention for the entire 4:00 performance. This excellent July 2015 release gets a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED from me, with an "EQ" (energy quotient) rating of 4.99.
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Crystal Monee Hall
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Jordan Carp
Jack Perla - Piano, Electric Piano, Accordion
Crystal Monee Hall - Voice
Jordan Carp - Voice, Guitar
Robin Coomer - Voice
Gawain Matthews - Guitars, Electric Bass (14)
David Arend - Upright Bass
Jason Slota - Drums, Percussion
Sam Bass - Cello
David Phillips - Pedal Steel
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Robin Coomer
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Gawain Matthews
Released July 17, 2015
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Music & lyrics by Jack Perla (BMI)
Additional lyrics: (1) David James Brock & Jack Perla;
​(2) Rob Bailis; (11) Walt Whitman; (12) William Taylor


Produced by Ben Yonas & Jack Perla
Recorded by Ben Yonas at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA
Mixed by Adam Munoz at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA
Mastered by Alan Silverman, Arf Mastering New York, NY
Design by John Bishop


©2014 by Jack Perla/Music Without Walls (BMI)
Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws