Ben Bierman wears a wide variety of hats on this multi-colored album. He plays trumpet, keyboards, guitars and bass while also composing the material. He also brings in guests Aandy Reiss/g-g, Willie Martinez/dr-perc, Terry Silverlight/dr and Emanuel Bierman/caj for added pulses, all devoted to bringing in shades of blues.
His trumpet tone is warm on the swinging “Bolero Blues” and plunges deep with guitar and bass on
“Carmel Meets Shrader.” His Harmon mute teams with CTI-flavored keyboards on a soulful “Let’s Chill One” and “Pretty Blues.” His guitar work is equally impressive, sounding rural on “Leo’s Rag” and sliding into second on a gritty trumpet and strings “AC Shuffle.” Plugged in guitar takes you to Chicago on a deep dish “Valeria Street Blues” and Latin joys bounce on “Dum Dee Dim.” Ambitious but unpretentious.