Both guys named Tom; one’s on bass, the other on guitar. Both serve up blue plate specials of music that is the War Dance of jazz fans. Rib stickin’ music here. Step right up!
Bassist Tom Kennedy is one of those guys that’s on a TON of recordings sessions, making his name with guys like Mike Stern, Lee RItenour and Dave Weckl. A “Steady Eddy” on the stand, he brings together some of the heavyweights here on this collection of Hard Bop Heaven. With Weckl/dr, Renee Rosnes/p, George Garzone/ts, Stern/g, Ritenour/g and Tim Hagans/tp just for starters, he must have just gone through his top ten iphone connections and said, “Let’s make some music!” Comfort food jazz classics like “Airgin” and “Moanin’” sound just right, with a backbeat that will get your blood pressure rising. Stern burns on “One Liners” while Garzone caresses the melody of “Ceora” with velvet gloves. Kennedy himself shows his talents on “Bolivia” while you beg for a dvd of Weckl on a testosterone driven “What is This Thing Called Love?”. This is the kind of stuff that makes you remember why you fell in love with this music in the first place.
Guitarist Tom Dempsey is a member of the guitar group that cannot play anything without taste and style. Here, he gets back to the essence of jazz with the classic B3 trio with Ron Oswanski/B3 and Alvin Atrkinson/dr. Whoever first invented this combination of instruments, I hope he put a patent on it and has made a ton of money from the idea, because it just never fails. A clever reading of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” will get your attention, and once again, “Ceora” pops in with a delightful reading. The engines are revved on Dempsey’s own “Ted’s Groove” as well as Buddy Montgomery’s “Bock to Bock.” Dempsey doesn’t rely on mindless chops as much as style, timing and conversation. He’s got a lot to say, and says it like the Alec Guinness of guitarists.
Capri Records
Planet Arts