Do you miss the sounds of vintage Blue Note albums by the likes of The Jazz Messengers? Fear not-pianist Adam Shulman sounds like a hard bop oasis as he brings together Mike Olmos/tp, Patrick Wolff/as, Rob Roth/ts, John Wiitala/b and Smith Dobson/dr for a wonderfully hard hitting and swinging session. The three horn front line sound like bridled stallions on the charging “Grant and Green” and swagger well on “Pearl and Bruno.” The minor blues “Shelby’s Sojourn” is highlighted by Roths’s meaty tenor, while Olmos’ horn saunters on “For an Unknown Lady.” The rhythm team has a hip gait on “Apartments” and Shulman himself shows a lyrical touch on the gentle read of “Easy Living” while he ambles well with Wiitala on the delectably blues waltz “Katy.” Everyone sounds inspired here and full of vitamins and minerals. A healthy dose of jazz.
OA2 Records