Jowee Omicil feat. Dominique Fils-Aimé - Should I Smile? (BasH! Village Records) [ Soul Jazz]

The Slow Music Movement
1 day ago
1 min read

The cover for Jowee Omicil and Dominique Fil-Aimé's, "Should I Smile?" single, showing a scenic view with pink flowers, dense greenery, and mountains under gray sky. Text: "Jowee Omicil - Should I Smile? feat. Dominique Fils-Aimé." Explicit content warning.

Jowee Omicil has been around. sMilLes is the eleventh album no less from this nomadic Canadian-Haitian composer and multi-instrumentalist who can turn his hand to saxophone, clarinet, flute, pocket trumpet, Rhodes, piano, voice and more.

The album is an eclectic jazz ride with some choice guests and throws in some tropical vibes as well to keep you on your toes and maybe even get you moving, but the real standout track is "Should I Smile", mainly due to the always impeccable vocals of Dominique Fils-Aimé, whose debut album Nameless, got full TSMM blog support back in 2018.

The track cuts straight to the chase, piano, easy drums and trumpet sounding the arrival of an introductory duet from the pair, before Omicil, like a true gentleman, urges Fils-Aimé to do what she does best, tell her truths with THAT voice. And off they go - riding the minimal instrumentation, the lady taking the lead with Omicil duetting where appropriate, gently urging his guest along. It's a beautiful laid back slice of soulful jazz that sounds like Sunday morning in summer. Count me in.