Do you REALLY want to spend the Labor Day weekend in Detroit? This collection of songs from last year’s Detroit Jazz Festival is a pretty good advertisement for throwing caution to the wind and heading out there. I’m not sure how the other bands were for those three days, but the music put out by the rhythm team of Aaron Diehl/p, Rodney Whitaker/b and Carl Allen/dr proved a hotter than a GM V8 engine for the likes of Tia Fuller/as, Sean Jones/tp, Gary Burton/vibes, Kevin Eubanks/g, Evan peri/g and Diego Rivera/ts. With a couple ringers to boot!
A hip shuffling “Libert Aveue Stroll” sets the tone with Fuller’s hard hitting alto, while Jones’ trumpet is as saucy as BBQ Caliente. “All Blues” features Burton’s lithe vibes, and “Nuages” spotlights some tasty picking by “Perri.” As for suprises, Alfredo Rodriguez does a solo take of “Guantanamera” that has the piano beg for mercy after delivering sounds ranging from chiming to percussive. Vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant shows that her debut disc is no fluke as she sounds freswh and sly on “OhDaddy Blues.” This lady is going places. The set closes with a smoky take of the R&B classic “Honky Tonk” that has GIT DOWN written all over for it. This is Motor City Madness at its best!
Mack Avenue Records