Composer/guitarist Darrell Katz puts together a forward thinking big band that gives tribute to one of the most forward thinking of them all, Mr. Albert Einstein. Sandwiched between a slightly outside “A Zen Story” and a fragrant sax quartet reading of “Monk’s Mood” (both intriguing in their own rights) Katz and the JCAO mix sounds and moods to quotations by and dedications to Einstein, cleverly and flexibly sung by Rebecca Shrimpton. There is room for soloing within the eight piece “Wheelworks” with Alan Chase’s alto getting some room on “Any Intelligent Fool” and “We Are the Dancers” while the trio of Dan Zupan/bcl-bs, Bill Lowe/tuba and Gary Bohan/tp do some lovely work together on “Riding A Bicycle.” Jim Hobbs’ alto sax veers in and out of the gently kaleidoscopic horns on “A Better Teacher” and “Sticks and Stones” and all throughout, Shrimpton does a yeoman’s job with her sandied tone singing about the simplicity of the theory of relativity or the key to the balance of life. Clever, and truly brilliant! What’s next? Isaac Newton?!?
Leo Records