One of the key questions any artist has to eventually ask himself has to be,”Who am I playing this music for?” More specifically, what kind of audience is going to pay to see the artist, or put down a few bucks to buy a cd or download?
Leon Foster Thomas plays a mean steel drum, and keeps the music in the Caribbean/bop vein here with Allen C. Paul/p, Kurt Hengstebeck/b and Ludwif Alfonso/dr. The percussive interplay between the artists is infectious on material like the title track and “Baby Powder.” The solos never go on for two long, so the emphasis here is on melody and mood, making material like “Soul Window” and Annecy” custom made for airplay. Easy on the ears, yet making the toes work as well. Enjoyable like an iced smoothie. Who’s the intended audience? Possibly people that take Caribbean cruises and want to remember their stops in Belize City or St. Barts.
On the disc Instinct, you only have two artists: Josh Rosen, who handles the piano and percussion, and Stan Strickland,who plays flutes and flutes and flutes, as well as clarinet, soprano sax, percussion, and sings on a few tracks. This music comes at you from a dozen different directions. Sometimes, you think you’re into a smooth jazz piece, as on the title track or “Break Out,” until a few knuckleballs come out of nowhere. Other times, as on “Hello Young Lovers,” Stickland’s crooning voice makes you think you’re listening to some unearthed Johnny Mathis sessions, while on “Rhythm” he does vocal gymnastics a la Bobby McFerrin. You might do some head scratching on the quizzical “Puffer Pond” or “Lady Jaguar” which has some, moments that you either think you’re at a Navajo music exhibition or a sound version of a Jackson Pollack painting. Moods are created, broken and then reshaped at the drop of a chord here. The audience? People on medicine for ADD?