I’ve seen this young kid twice in concert, and just about memorized his debut release when it came out last year. The pride of Calabasas, CA, Graham Dechter, is playing SOMEWHERE just about every night around LA, and the night of jamming have made his chops even more ferocious. Here, he’s only teamed with the best we’ve got to offer: Tamir Hendelman/p, John Clayton/b and Jeff Hamilton/dr handle the “backup” work, if you want to call trading 45’s at a shooting range doing support. Together, they provid a hard swinging feel to a fretter’s delight. From the opening scales of Wes Montgomery’s burning “Road Song” to the gentle pickings of the closing “Every Time We Say Goodbye,” Dechter does everything to the guitar except take it to In n Out Burger as he grills, fries, cooks and broils his axe on toe tapping pieces like Barney Kessel’s “ Be Deedle Dee Do, ” hard boppers like Lee Morgan’s “Hocus Pocus” or snappy standards like “Come Rain or Come Shine.” He creates his own songbook by doing his own “Together & Apart,” pianist Josh Nelson’s well composed “Takin’ It Here,” and Clayton’s “Grease For Graham,” and you won’t be distracted by any of them. This guys a cooker, and you’ll want to hear him, see him, and learn to play like him in no time!
Capri Records