Steve Howell - My Mind Gets To Ramblin'

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:24
Size: 110.8 MB
Styles: Country blues
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[4:12] 1. I Can't Be Satisfied
[4:32] 2. Louise
[3:56] 3. All My Friends Are Gone
[4:24] 4. Mississippi Blues
[4:13] 5. Policy Blues
[3:13] 6. Steady Rollin' Man
[3:13] 7. Ain't Nothin' In Ramblin'
[3:38] 8. Prodigal Son
[3:47] 9. Dirty Deal Blues
[2:42] 10. Windy & Warm
[2:26] 11. Ain't You Sorry
[2:53] 12. Joshua F'it The Battle Of Jericho
[5:11] 13. Rowdy Blues

Even though Steve Howell was due to celebrate his 56th birthday three days after the release of My Mind Gets to Ramblin', it was only his second solo album. Howell is an accomplished fingerpicking guitarist and a musical scholar, and the disc is his treatment of country blues, including songs by and associated with Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Bo Carter, Robert Johnson, Memphis Minnie, and Mance Lipscomb. Doubtless Howell himself would not claim that he and his talented band, including ace session bassist Joe Osborn, who co-produced the album, improved upon the performances of the originators of these songs. Their interpretations are spirited and exact, but never biting, starting with a version of Muddy Waters' "I Can't Be Satisfied" that somewhat belies the title. The emphasis is on getting the details right, and they do, even if the emotions underlying the music are more distilled than expressed. Still, their affection for the form, starting with the leader who sings in an agreeable wheeze, is obvious. If Howell hasn't recorded much, it's probably because he is better appreciated in a live setting than on an album that necessarily comes off as more tribute than competition to earlier performers of the material. ~William Ruhlmann

My Mind Gets To Ramblin' mc
My Mind Gets To Ramblin' zippy

---

Adam Shulman Sextet - Full Tilt

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:00
Size: 153.4 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2018
Art: Front

[7:34] 1. Fantasy In Db
[6:14] 2. Lonesome Dream
[9:10] 3. The Conquerer
[9:25] 4. San Francisco National Cemetery
[5:25] 5. Yeah...So
[8:42] 6. 4th Street Strut
[5:41] 7. Full Tilt
[6:16] 8. The Night We Called It A Day
[8:30] 9. Mr. Timmons

Adam Shulman: piano; Mike Olmos: trumpet; Lyle Link: alto sax; Patrick Wolff: tenor sax; John Wiitala: bass; Evan Hughes: drums.

In music, as in life, not every new voice is worth hearing. Here's one that is. Full Tilt, the fifth CD by San Francisco-born and based pianist Adam Shulman's sextet, is a throwback to those halcyon days when bop was king and giants like Diz, Bird, Miles, Max Roach, Hank Mobley, Benny Golson, Horace Silver, Wardell Gray, Lee Morgan, Kenny Clarke, Clifford Brown, Sonny Stitt, J.J. Johnson, Hampton Hawes, Freddie Hubbard, Milt Jackson, Kenny Dorham, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon and their kin were its noble emissaries.

Although the album was recorded for Cellar Live, it would have been right at home on Prestige or Blue Note, the sovereign labels during the bop regency of the 1950s and '60s. On the one hand, Shulman's radiant charts, underlined by delightful harmonies and rhythmic patterns, emulate that glorious era while on the other proving decisively that superior music is indeed timeless. For the record, Shulman wrote seven of the album's nine numbers and arranged all of them. Several sound like they could have come straight from the Jazz Messengers or Clifford Brown / Max Roach libraries, and there are deep bows elsewhere to Cedar Walton ("Fantasy in D Flat") and Bobby Timmons (the overtly named "Mr. Timmons"). The ensemble is equally taut and assured on the lone standard, Matt Dennis / Tom Adair's poignant "The Night We Called It a Day," and Shulman's heartfelt eulogy, "San Francisco National Cemetery."

Speaking of the ensemble, Shulman is fortunate to have found and gathered around him a team of blue-chip sidemen who evidently are not only as passionate about bop as he is but are able to translate that ardor into action and improvise in that style about as well as anyone. Trumpeter Mike Olmos, alto Lyle Link and tenor Patrick Wolff share the front line while Shulman, bassist John Wiitala and drummer Evan Hughes comprise a stalwart rhythm section that could have held its ground with any during the heralded Bop Era. Without singling anyone out for special praise, suffice to say that the solos by all hands (including the leader) are as keen and resourceful as those one might expect from their venerable predecessors. Indeed, close your eyes and you may start to believe that some of those hallowed patriarchs have actually made the scene for one last gig. They haven't, of course, but Shulman's time-shifting sextet is beyond any doubt the next best thing. ~Jack Bowers

Full Tilt mc
Full Tilt zippy

---

Anita O'Day - All The Sad Young Men

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:21
Size: 78.6 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 1961/2012
Art: Front

[3:44] 1. Boogie Blues
[4:12] 2. You Came A Long Way From St. Louis
[2:42] 3. I Want To Sing A Song
[3:17] 4. A Woman Alone With The Blues
[4:28] 5. The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men
[4:07] 6. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
[2:38] 7. One More Mile
[3:56] 8. Night Bird
[2:29] 9. Up State
[2:44] 10. Senor Blues

When Creed Taylor took over the production reins from Norman Granz when the latter sold Verve to MGM, he continued to place Anita O'Day in imaginative settings that challenged her creativity. On this LP, she was served with a collection of brilliant, difficult big-band charts, courtesy of a 27-year-old emerging master named Gary McFarland who mixed instrumental voices and tempo changes in querulous, turbulent combinations. Even a truly odd pick like "You Came a Long Way From St. Louis" is enlivened with sprouting shafts of outlaw muted brass and reeds. Another highlight is the contemporary update of O'Day's old flag-waver with the Krupa band, "Boogie Blues," complete with one of her patented flip upturned glissandos at the end. This album must have been a traumatic experience for O'Day, for as she tells the story, the tapes of McFarland's arrangements arrived by mail from New York and she had to overdub her vocals in an empty studio in Los Angeles. Yet it is a tribute to O'Day's abilities that she makes it all sound easy, exhibiting a freedom in phrasing and improvising that is extraordinary even for her. ~Richard S. Ginnell

All The Sad Young Men mc
All The Sad Young Men zippy

---

The Depaul University Jazz Ensemble, Jeff Hamilton - Salutes Woody Herman

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:28
Size: 143.0 MB
Styles: Big band
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[6:55] 1. Woodchoppers Ball
[4:20] 2. Sidewalks Of Cuba
[4:56] 3. Early Autumn
[5:29] 4. Laura
[5:26] 5. Lemon Drop
[4:56] 6. Blue Flame
[4:26] 7. Sonny Speaks
[4:54] 8. Apple Honey
[8:22] 9. Four Brothers
[5:42] 10. Bijou
[6:58] 11. The Good Earth

Bob Lark: director, flugelhorn solo (4), trumpet solo (6); Marques Carroll: trumpet, flugelhorn; Tom Klein: trumpet, flugelhorn; Bobby Lark: trumpet, flugelhorn; David Kaiser: trumpet, flugelhorn; Corbin Andrick: alto sax, flute; Andrew Janak: alto sax; Sean Packard: tenor sax; Michael Plankey: tenor sax; Mark Hiebert: baritone sax, bass clarinet; Bryan Tipps: trombone; Brett Balika: trombone; Alex Wasily: trombone; Tony Portela: bass trombone; Pete Benson: piano; Brandon Hunt: guitar; Matt Ulery: bass. Special guest artists — Jeff Hamilton: drums; Mark Colby: clarinet (5-7); Thomas Matta: bass trombone (2).

Were he still with us, bandleader Woody Herman would have turned one hundred years young on May 16, 2013. What better way, then, to mark the occasion than by doing something that made "the Chopper" happier than anything else: swinging hard and often. Chicago's DePaul University Jazz Ensemble does precisely that on this superb album comprised of eleven memorable themes associated with Herman and his Herds from the 1940s and '50s, thanks in part to the towering presence of a special guest, drummer Jeff Hamilton, a Herman alumnus who drives the band ever onward with passion and power.

While there's nothing here that hasn't been heard before, perhaps even hundreds of times, the contemporary arrangements, written to accommodate the ensemble's instrumentation, lend every number a fresh slant that is sure to please, as are the animated solos by various members of director Bob Lark's intrepid company of undergrads. In other words, this is no mere facsimile of the Herman Herds but an earnest tribute that builds on the exemplary foundation designed by the maestro and takes it in new and consistently engaging directions. This is nowhere more apparent than in the adroitly renovated charts by Thomas Matta ("Sidewalks of Cuba," "Blue Flame"), Bradley Williams ("Early Autumn"), Joe Clark ("Laura"), Dan Jonas ("Lemon Drop"), Kirk Garrison ("Sonny Speaks") and Carl Kennedy ("Apple Honey," "Bijou"). Three members of the ensemble weigh in with splendid arrangements of their own: pianist Pete Benson (Herman's mega-hit, "Woodchopper's Ball"), guitarist Brandon Hunt (Neal Hefti's "The Good Earth") and bassist Matt Ulery (Jimmy Giuffre's classic "Four Brothers").

A second guest, Mark Colby, best known as a tenor saxophonist, appends tasteful clarinet passages on "Blue Flame" and "Sonny Speaks," while fellow DePaul faculty member Matta solos on bass trombone on "Sidewalks of Cuba" and director Lark speaks out on flugelhorn ("Laura") and trumpet ("Blue Flame"). Alto saxophonist Corbin Andrick is featured on "Apple Honey," trombonist Bryan Tipps on "Bijou." Other soloists of note are Benson, Ulery, Hunt, trumpeters David Kaiser and Marques Carroll, trombonists Alex Wasily and Brett Balika, alto Andrew Janak, tenors Mike Plankey and Sean Packard, baritone Mark Hiebert and, last but not least, the indefatigable Hamilton, an outstanding choice for the drum chair.

Salutes Woody Herman succeeds admirably on two levels: as a showcase for the first-class DePaul University Jazz Ensemble, and as a suitable reminder of Herman's unequivocal brilliance as a bandleader. ~Jack Bowers

Salutes Woody Herman mc
Salutes Woody Herman zippy

---

Buddy DeFranco - Baby Steps

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:59
Size: 114.4 MB
Styles: Clarinet jazz
Year: 1995/2012
Art: Front

[7:13] 1. Stormy Weather
[7:00] 2. Flamingo
[7:28] 3. Baby Steps
[5:41] 4. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
[5:17] 5. Get Out Of Town
[6:09] 6. I Cover The Waterfront
[4:48] 7. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
[6:19] 8. Canadian Sunset

Smooth, lyrical, lucid, precise -– they almost do justice to the unmistakable sound of clarinetist Buddy Defranco. His technical expertise has been likened to that of Artie Shaw, his melodic capabilities rival Benny Goodman's, he's been dubbed "The Charlie Parker of the clarinet."

The bebop revolution of the 1940s enabled Buddy to break looses from the confines of swing and granted him "the freedom to float" he desired. The challenge was clear: from "king" of the swing instruments, the clarinet was not well suited to bebop, due to its temperamental nature. Buddy eventually got recording dates with many of the bebop legends plus a steady spot in the Count Basie septet. While the Basie gig was prestigious within the jazz community, trumpeter and fellow band member Clark Terry (left) recalled the interesting "reverse racism" Buddy encountered for being the only white member of the septet.

The 1950s were a prolific time for Buddy. He formed his own quartet with drummer Art Blakey, pianist Kenny Drew, and bassist Eugene Wright. In 1954, he embraced the opportunity to play a European tour with the spectacular Billie Holiday. Through producer Norman Granz, Buddy was paired with his boyhood idol, pianist Art Tatum, and was featured on the Jazz at the Philharmonic recordings. Despite his success, Buddy struggled with the only major criticism of his long career, a column by jazz writer Nat Hentoff.

When rock and roll began to steal the jazz's thunder towards the end of the 1950s, Buddy made ends meet with studio work for film and television until he was invited to lead the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1966. During the subsequent period, Buddy met and married his wife Joyce, and joined forces musically with vibraphonist Terry Gibbs. Gibbs and Defranco formed a dynamic pair, complimenting each other musically and personally. Buddy Defranco continued to progress with time, influencing young clarinetists with his gentle, generous personality and his ceaseless energy for experimentation.

Baby Steps mc
Baby Steps zippy

---

Brian Lynch - Peer Pressure

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1986
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:55
Size: 123,7 MB
Art: Front

(10:11)  1. Thomasville
( 8:44)  2. Park Avenue Petite
( 6:01)  3. Peer Pressure
( 7:00)  4. The Outlaw
( 9:00)  5. Change of Plan
( 4:59)  6. 'Nother Never
( 7:57)  7. I Concentrate on You

Lynch wrote three of the seven tracks, while Horace Silver, Benny Golson, Tommy Turrentine and Cole Porter penned one apiece. His trumpet sound definitely borrows from previous modern masters Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan & Bill Hardman, and the influence of Silver, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and those of the hard/post bop movement cannot be denied. The latin tinge is also prevalent on the Brazilian bossa inflected "Change Of Plan" and Silver's Afro-Cuban tinged classic "The Outlaw." These two selections serve Lynch well for future excursions away from strict mainstream jazz. A rock solid date from a promising musician whose star is on the rise. ~ Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/peer-pressure-mw0000410785

Brian Lynch Sextet: Brian Lynch (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jim Snidero (alto saxophone); Ralph Moore (tenor saxophone); Kirk Lightsey (piano); Jay Anderson (bass); Victor Lewis (drums).

Peer Pressure

---

Lady Kim - Left Alone

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:45
Size: 131,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:23)  1. Left Alone
(4:09)  2. Afro Blue
(4:47)  3. When Sunny Gets Blue
(4:48)  4. Since I Fell For You
(5:21)  5. I'm Glad There Is You
(2:32)  6. If I Were A Bell
(5:50)  7. Misty
(3:29)  8. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
(5:50)  9. Angel Eyes
(4:00) 10. On A Clear Day
(5:21) 11. Bird Alone
(3:09) 12. Strange Fruit

I started singing in Boston as a young girl, inspired by Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross. My mom introduced me to the music of Billie Holiday, and I was hooked. My plans to become a pediatrician went out the window. Since then I’ve been described as “a musical jewel” with a repertoire that has included jazz standards, jazz-not-so-standards, the blues, funk, and reggae. Throughout my career I’ve been lucky enough to perform in a variety of great places : from The New York Jazz Session in Irkutsk, Siberia to the Blue Note in Fukuoka, Japan; from the Montreal’s International Jazz and Off Jazz Festivals to the Ginza Jazz Festival, Japan. And I have performed with a variety of stellar artists: from jazz bassist William Parker to the undeniable funk of George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic; from Joe Hisaishi’s Japanese New World Philharmonic Orchestra to New Orleans’ Charles Neville. Originally from the States, I work with a fabulous group of Montreal musicians.  My vocal style has been called “warm as hot chocolate”, and the band and i swing with tunes from Thelonius Monk, make you cry with some of the best jazz standards, as well as open your ears with original songs! Montreal’s wonderful jazz critic, Len Dobbins, was also a fan and referred to me as a “great vocalist” he recommends listening to. I hope you enjoy what you hear. Singing is my deepest joy, is the place where I am my most real and best self. http://kimzombik.com/music/bio/

Left Alone

---

Ari Ambrose - Retrospect

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:12
Size: 156,5 MB
Art: Front

(11:03)  1. Last Stand
( 7:21)  2. Sophisticated Lady
( 8:13)  3. Back Road
(10:11)  4. Retrospect
(11:49)  5. Gone With The Wind
(10:00)  6. Escapade
( 9:32)  7. Just One Of Those Things

At just forty-two years of age, tenorist Ari Ambrose may seem a bit young to be releasing a record with the title Retrospect. The realization that it’s his fourteenth as a leader for Steeplechase applies credence to the logic of the choice. Ambrose came of age as a player under the Danish label’s loyal auspices, part of a peer group that includes Stephen Riley, Chris Byars, Jed Levy and slightly older saxophonists like Rich Perry and Greg Tardy. It’s collective fast company, but Ambrose has long aligned his activities with equity between history and interpretive industry. This session falls right in step with his abiding philosophy of embracing programs canted toward older tunes. Two originals join five standards, but there are also subtle deviations most prominently in how the leader approaches the material. Ambrose notes a longitudinal change in his thinking through interview snippets in the liners, zeroing in on the stylistic distinctions between Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons and how his younger self was enamored by the fearless skill of the former. As an older player, it’s Ammons that now holds the edge in Ambrose’s estimation. In a simplified sense it’s an affirmation of the worth of presence and feeling over technical prowess.

The shift in emphasis is immediately evident in Ambrose’s rendering of the Ellington ballad “Sophisticated Lady”, his horn essaying the theme with an eloquence that’s rife with all sorts of subtle decisions in terms of inflection and tone. Trumpeter Alex Norris follows suit with a velvety brass sound that echoes the precedent of Kenny Dorham with a warm, translucent sound. No coincidence then that two of Dorham’s tunes show up in the set starting with the relatively obscure “Back Road”, a bright boppish line that shows off the winsome confluence in the frontline tandem. “Escapade”, also borrowed from the classic Joe Henderson album Our Thing (1964), speaks to the quintet’s strengths. Pianist Jeremy Manasia leads the rhythm section in ensuring that all the technical necessities are ably shored up. Bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Donald Edwards are the other architects in framing the formulations of the horns with thoughtful support. That heavy lifting accomplished, Ambrose and Norris are free to blow at length, shaping solos that blend melodic ingenuity with an ear toward graceful dramatic exposition. “Gone with the Wind” carries the pungent aroma of mothballs in nearly all of its modern iterations, but the quintet rises to a collective challenge in outfitting it with a fresh scent and largely succeeds. In heart and mind, the “new” Ambrose is the same as the old, but a deep maturity in his playing built on a discography now safely in the double digits suggests he still has much to say. ~ Derek Taylor

Personnel:  Ari Ambrose  (tenor saxophone, composer);  Alex Norris  (trumpet);  Jeremy Manasia  (piano);  Jay Anderson  (bass);  Donald Edwards  (drums).

Retrospect

---

Donny McCaslin - Casting For Gravity

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:49
Size: 148,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:20)  1. Stadium Jazz
(6:19)  2. Says Who
(7:40)  3. Losing Track Of Daytime
(4:13)  4. Alpha And Omega
(5:51)  5. Tension
(5:52)  6. Praia Grande
(8:32)  7. Love Song For An Echo
(3:58)  8. Casting For Gravity
(7:25)  9. Bend
(6:34) 10. Henry

If saxophonist Donny McCaslin stuck a toe into the ocean of electric jazz with his previous album Perpetual Motion (Greenleaf, 2010), then with Casting For Gravity he dives headfirst into the sea. But don't worry, with his musical dexterity and adeptness on horn, he is in no danger of sinking. In fact, he takes to these waters like a thirsty horse. The saxophonist of choice for the band leaders including trumpeter Dave Douglas, singer Kate McGarry, and composers/arrangers Ryan Truesdell, and Maria Schneider, McCaslin grew up in California listening to fusion, pop, and bands like Tower Of Power that infused R&B and funk into their jazz horn section. For awhile in the 1990s, he played in a revived version of vibraphonist Mike Mainieri's Steps Ahead. Steps Ahead, with its various lineups that included saxophonist Michael Brecker, keyboardist Don Grolnick and drummers Peter Erskine and Steve Gadd, is the touchstone for this recording. That is, a time when fusion was not a dirty word.

The saxophonist surrounds himself with talent here, starting with producer/saxophonist David Binney, a fellow saxophonist and former member of the 1990s collective Lan Xang, with McCaslin. The album opens with the oxymoronic "Stadium Jazz," a melodic burner with ever- changing rhythms, and finds drummer Mark Guiliana powering all things ablaze. The pair feed off each other throughout, trading rounds on "Tension," as electric bassist Tim Lefebvre tinkers in thunder-making. The inspiration here is both the jazz fusion of Weather Report and the electronica of bands like Aphex Twin and Boards Of Canada, whose song, "Alpha And Omega," gets covered here, with keyboardist Jason Lindner's spooky synths and McCaslin's processed, echo-y effects. As the song progresses the electronics threaten and bully the affair, all the while McCaslin Enduring on a short, four-minute song that begs for a longer live production. Like jazz giant Wayne Shorter, McCaslin's sound suffers no ill effects of fusion, nor is he compromised by the genre. He goes toe-to-toe with the electric funk on "Says Who" and sails above the changes on the tour de force "Praia Grande." On the thoughtful closer "Henry," a softer tone is called, with Linder on electric piano and McCaslin delivering his trademark runs. ~ Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/casting-for-gravity-donny-mccaslin-greenleaf-music-review-by-mark-corroto.php

Personnel: Donny McCaslin: tenor saxophone; Jason Lindner: electric piano, acoustic piano, synthesizers; Tim Lefebvre: electric bass; Mark Guiliana: drums.

Casting For Gravity

---

Bob Florence Limited Edition - Eternal Licks and Grooves

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:23
Size: 161,9 MB
Art: Front

(14:03)  1. Eternal Licks And Grooves
( 6:15)  2. Claire De Lune
( 8:08)  3. Mirror Images
( 6:34)  4. Guiding Star
(12:15)  5. Invitation
( 9:30)  6. I'm Old Fashioned
(13:34)  7. Appearing In Cleveland

In a world of unrestrained hyperbole, where competent athletes are superstars and slim, attractive women supermodels, words like awesome, spectacular, phenomenal, superlative and breathtaking are too often over-used and undeserved. But not in this case. On Eternal Licks and Grooves, the Bob Florence Limited Edition is awesome, its soloists spectacular, guest artists Carl Saunders, Scott Whitfield and Peter Erskine phenomenal, Florence's piano playing superlative, his compositions and arrangements breathtaking. Florence, who recently turned seventy-five, has recorded more than a dozen big-band albums starting with Name Band 1959 (Carlton) and this may well be the best one yet. That's not hype; simply a fact. From "Eternal Licks and Grooves, commissioned to honor Count Basie, through "Appearing in Cleveland, his memorable salute to Stan Kenton, Florence operates with the unerring skill of a master surgeon, scrupulously appraising whole themes or fragments thereof and carefully splicing them together as only he can to produce fresh and exciting musical expositions. About his buoyant arrangement of "Claire de Lune, Florence writes, "When I do an arrangement of a standard composition, I become the composer, an assertion that applies not only to Claude Debussy's classic work but to Bronislaw Kaper's "Invitation and Jerome Kern / Johnny Mercer's "I'm Old Fashioned, each of which glistens in Florence's capable hands. Besides "Grooves and "Cleveland, Florence wrote "Mirror Images and co-wrote "Guiding Star with Fred Manley.

Florence puts Whitfield to work immediately, and the trombonist responds with a blistering solo on "Grooves, complementing thermal statements by guitarist Larry Koonse, tenor Tom Peterson, trumpeter Larry Lunetta and drummer Erskine (who kicks the band relentlessly throughout). Florence's exquisite solo piano introduces "Claire de Lune, on which trumpeter Saunders is typically astonishing, even inserting a brief quote from "Autumn Serenade (if there's a better all-around trumpeter playing today, I've yet to hear him). The melodious "Mirror Images (denoting Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn) features Don Shelton's sensuous soprano sax, the lovely ballad "Guiding Star Bob Carr's supple baritone sax and Bob McChesney's satiny trombone. As on "Claire de Lune, Florence adroitly states the melody on "Invitation and "Old Fashioned before gently but persistently taking the standards where he wants them to go. Florence, tenor Jeff Driskill, trumpeter Steve Huffsteter and bassist Trey Henry are showcased on the former, trombonist Alex Iles and alto Kim Richmond on the latter (Richmond's amiable solo is especially charming). The inspired soloists on "Cleveland are Florence, Koonse, baritone Bob Efford and trumpeter Ron Stout. Truth be told, there's neither a weak spot nor false note on the album. At the risk of sounding, well, hyperbolic, one could easily make the case that Eternal Licks and Grooves is an unequivocal masterpiece. In the end, however, that's up to each listener to decide. ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/eternal-licks-and-grooves-bob-florence-mama-records-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Bob Florence: composer, arranger, piano; Pete DeSiena: trumpet, flugelhorn; Lee Thornburg: trumpet, flugelhorn; Larry Lunetta: trumpet, flugelhorn; Steve Huffsteter: trumpet, flugelhorn; Ron Stout: trumpet, flugelhorn; Don Shelton: alto, soprano sax, clarinet; Kim Richmond: alto, soprano sax, clarinet; Jeff Driskill: tenor sax, clarinet; Tom Peterson: tenor sax, clarinet; Billy Kerr: tenor sax, clarinet; Bob Efford: baritone sax, bass clarinet; Bob Carr: baritone sax, e flat contra alto clarinet; Charlie Loper: trombone; Alex Iles: trombone; Bob McChesney: trombone; Craig Gosnell: bass trombone; Larry Koonse: guitar; Trey Henry: bass. Guests: Peter Erskine: drums; Carl Saunders: trumpet; Scott Whitfield: trombone.

Eternal Licks and Grooves

---