Bassist Henry “Skipper” Franklin has been one of those reliable guys on the LA jazz scene for decades. Always playing somewhere, and always playing swinging jazz, he is guaranteed to put out impressive material, whether in concert on in the studio. Here, he teams up with a band of some of the best Angelenos around: Theo Saunders/b, Ramon banda/dr, Gilbert Castellanos/tp-fh, Chuck Manning/ts and Ryan Porter/tb for some exciting post bop. The band delivers some bluesy toe tapping on material like “Neko” and some nice strutting stuff on “June Night.” The horn section is top rate on their solos here, with lots of joy and energy jumping out at you. Saunders’ piano on his boogalooing “Thump” is a kick, and Franklin himself shows why he’s the boss on a lyrical take of “Once In Awhile.” Guest vocalists Mon David and Dwight Trible contribute their unique and pleasing styles on “Love Song For Midori” and “Queen of Tangents” respectfully, making the disc incredibly well rounded. Sounds so simple, but if it were, everyone could do this stuff, and believe me, they DON’T!
SF Records
www.henryfranklin.com