Well, it may not be as famous a friendship as Bogie and Raines, but guitarist Tom Dempsey and bassist Tim Ferguson show some excellent camaraderie with Eliot Zigmund/dr and Joel Frahm/ts. The mood here is as sleek as fins on a 63 Caddy, with hip takes of “Little Niles” and “Autumn in New York” glistening like candles through a stained glass window. Frahm’s tenor is marble flavored on Thad Jones’ “50-21” while Dempsey shows some nice picking on “Ted’s Groove” and “Focus Pocus.” A clever take of Monk’s “Coming on the Hudson” shows the dexterity of this hip group of colleagues, making this a delightful set.
Planet Arts Records