Trends and fads come and go;straight-ahead jazz, or mainstream, if you will, is what will keep being played 1000 years from now. Here are two beauts.
Drummer Steve Johns leads a family affair with Debbie Lee Johns/ts-ss, Daryl Johns/b as well as non-family members Dave Stryker-Bob Devos/g through a swinging set of originals. SJ’s drumming creates a hip pulse on the gently grooving “So You Say” for DJ’s warm tenor, while the rhythm section jabs and punches like a middleweight on “ Shadowboxing.” The band gets funky with Devos’ guitar on “Chunk” while Stryker does a Benson burner on “Came To Believe.” The team bops with the best with DJ’s tenor on “Sleepwalke,” while her soprano gets funky on “Mixings.” Want to see this family in concert!
Russ Nolan handles the tenor and soprano saxes as he leads a team with Mike Eckroth/p, Daniel Foose/b, Brian Fishler/dr and Yausyo Kimura-Victor Rendon/perc. Three’s on cover, a nicely grooving read of “My Shipt” with Nolan on soprano; other than that you get a lot of music that has a lot of Latin influence. “Cancion Sabrosa and “Las T eclas Negras” includes fun loing piano and gobs of exciting percussion, while “Mi Remedio” is a graceful delight. Things get chaotic on with the caffeinated drums and percussion on “Jazz Is A Four Letter Word” whereas the title track has a cleverly oblique melody to it. Lots of fun sounds bouncing around.
Strike Zone Records
Rhinoceruss Music