Remember why you first liked jazz? It was fun, upbeat and filled with tons of energy. Eventually, most people start getting into more “sophisticated” styles such as hard bop, fusion, post bop and free, but leave it to the Russians to bring America’s music back to its roots. Dr. Alex Gershman has put together a fun filled team of artists that comes across like a jazz revival show. He writes, plays bass and sings a bit, but mostly he holds court and directs the ensemble on this fun-loving disc that includes studio stars Brandon Fields/sax, Bob McChesney/tb as well as a snappy rhythm team of Kevin Winard/dr, Sergey Chipenko-Herman Jackson/p and Nahum Zdybel/g.
There’s lots of vocalists coming and going on the scene and all bring gobs of personality to the disc. A take of “I’m So In Love” have Adam Jackson and Carina Cooper going back and forth like a badminton championship, while Cooper gets the spotlight on enticing takes of “Universal Swing” and “Someone Real.” Some down and dirty sounds come out of “Playful Blues” with Will Jackson on vocals, and Lenny Castros’ percussion and Fields’ horn give an extra kick to “Paradise.” The whole concept has thefeeling of an entire show. I’ve seen them in concert and was impressed how big my smile was at the end of the evening. The disc gives the same feel.