Nothing like the power of a horn section to blow away the blues. Here are two recent releases that are worth adding to your shelf or ipod.
Legendary pianist/composer Allan Toussaint is given a fitting tribute on this collection of Big Easy tunes performed by the Swingadelic. Funk and good times are a plenty here, as they take songs you’ve heard in various genres by a myriad of artists ranging from Lee Dorsey to the Pointer Sisters to Glen Campbell and give them the Crescent City gumbo. Some tunes like “Night People” have a gritty vocal by John Bauers, while Queen Esther lets loose during “On Your Way Down.” A heavy back beat is featured on “Yes We Can Can” that will get under your skin, and a slithery “Whipped Cream” is gorgeously frothy. Hits like “Working In A Coal Mine” and “Sneaking Sally Through The Alley” sound completely timeless here, and sound much more like they’re “supposed” to sound. Bon Ton Roulet!
Composer/guitarist Bill Horvitz puts together a warm and rich big band that is filled with thick and penetrating harmonies for the sax and horn sections. The entire album is dedicated to his younger brother who died suddenly of heart failure back in 2005 at the young age of 44. The music is not a downer, on the contrary, there is a hope on material like “Astor Place” and “Do You Want to Dance?” that is infectious, and the solos by Cory Wright/ts and Hal Forman/tp on the former are superb, not to mention Darren Johnston’s trumpet work on the latter. The groove on “Funk Side Story” includes some hip alto work by Steve Adams, and the title track finally gets to resolving the grief that only God can ultimately heal, with George Hines’ French horn creating a balm of resolve to close the session. Impressive mood created here.
Zoho Records
Big Door Prize Records
www.billhorvitz.com