Drummer Ray “Killer” Appletown takes us to one of the under appreciated centers of jazz, namely Indianapolis, home of such jazz greats as Freddie Hubbard, Wes and Monk Montgomer, JJ Johnson and Mel Rhyne. Not sure why Michael Jackson wasn’t included, but that’s another story. Anyway, the snappy drummer leads a hot hard bop date with Brian Lynch/tp, Ian Hendrickson-Smith/as, Todd Herbert/ts, Rich Germanson/p and Robert Sabin/b, with Peter Bernstein bringing in his axe for a couple of Wes-inspired tunes.
Hard boppers will have a royal feast here with hip hugging cookers like Montgomery’s “So Do It” and Hubbard’s “Luana.” A big of the boogaloo beat runs up your back on “Backlash” which also mixes some hot congas by Jonny Rivero mixing perfectly with Appleton’s traps. Hendrickson-Smith’s alto soars on the hard shuffling “Fatback” while Lynch’s trumpet pierces through “Out of This World” and floats along the gracious “Flamingo” with Germanson’s lithe piano. Bernstein gets the spotlight on “Quiet Thing” and holds his own with the whole band on Wes’ percolating “Twisted Blues.” It’s indescribably refreshing to see that this kind of music can still be made, and still sound fresh. Keep this stuff coming!
Hollistic MusicWorks