Bay Area-based Fred Randolph uses his acoustic, electric and fretless bass in a mix of snappy settings along with Matt Clark-Marcos Silva/key, Rob Roth-Alex Murzyn/reeds, Erik Jekabsen/tp-fh, Matthew Heulitt/g, Brian Rice-Christian Pepin/perc and a rotating drum team of Greg Wyser-Pratte, Alan Hall and Phil Thompson . Randolph knows how to bop with style as he shows on a percussive “Caught in the Act” and snappy “Hypnology.” Some rich and lively Latin sounds create an irresistible groove as Sandy Cressman sings on the rich samba “Pelo Mar” and slithering “Bittersweet” that has Roth and Jekabsen doing a cha cha throughout. Silva provides a rich solo on “ No Agenda” and Rob Reich’s atmospheric accordion on the melancholy “La Ultima Ves” closes the album as Randolph shows how a bass can be used as a baton for a successful session.
Creative Spirit Records
www.creativespiritrecords.com