Pianist Mark Etheredge keeps it upbeat and melodic on this collection of originals. He teams up with a core group of Roberto Vally/b, Richie Garcia/perc, Gorden Campbell/dr and Paul Brown/g for easy on the ears pieces such as “Groovin’ With My Baby” and the funky bass-grooved “Be Who You Are.” Brown’s guitar gets a wacka wooka workout on “Connected” while he teams up with Greg Vail’s tenor for some jazzy work on “Lost in the Shuffle.” Chuck Loeb sits in with the leader on a lovely “For Your Love,” and while Etheredge shows his gentle side on “Rain,” he also displays some muscle on the B3 on a hip “Soul Clap Honey.” Clean and shiny like the chrome on a ’49 Buick.
Vipaka Records