A tribute the great Sammy Davis Jr – but a record that stands equally well as a tribute to the rich musical partnership between pianist Harold Mabern and tenorist Eric Alexander! The pair together have this bright, sparkling sound that never fails to please us – and it's one that's just perfect for this set of tunes from the Sammy D songbook – the kind of upbeat, positive numbers that really set him apart from other singers of his generation – handled here by Mabern and Alexander with a definite soulful swing! Of course, the remaining group members also help things move nicely – bassist John Webber and drummer Joe Farnsworth – both of whom are frequent partners of Mabern and Eric. Titles include "The People Tree", "Hey There", "As Long As She Needs Me", "I've Gotta Be Me", "Mr Lucky", and "Night Song". ~ Dusty Groove
Barney Kessel in a really great style – a mode you won't normally hear on other albums of the time – but which really turns out to be a treat! As you'd guess from the title, the album's got a definite bossa nova influence – one that mixes Barney's sweet guitar lines with bigger backings from Bob Florence and Chuck Sagle – both of whom use lots of percussion and lively rhythms to "bossa-fy" a set of familiar numbers from the American past! The approach is great – as groovy as it is charming –a nd titles include "A String Of Pearls", "They Can't Take That Away From Me", "Summertime", "Muscrat Ramble", "It Ain't Necessarily So", "Jada", and "Bye Bye Blues". ~ Dusty Groove
Different is right – as this obscure early 60s side shows Chico Hamilton really opening up, moving past the modern chamber style of the late 50s, into the freer modal rhythms that characterized his incredible work of the 60s! The group's the beginning of that sound too – with Charles Lloyd on tenor and flute, Gabor Szabo on guitar, and Albert Stinson on bass – joined by George Bohannon on trombone, who slides around the grooves to expand the bottom of the album's sound nicely! The album's perhaps not as "eastern" as some of Hamilton's mid 60s work – but the roots of that sound are definitely there, with stretched out tracks that really show some great writing and playing working together! Titles include "Voice In The Night", "A Different Journey", "The Vulture", "One Sheridan Square", and "Sun Yen Sen". ~ Dusty Groove
No comments:
Post a Comment