While Knoxville itself may be best known for white water rapids and tornadoes, the KJO directed by Vance Thompson shows another reason to visit East Tennessee. The 16 piece band tackles standards, traditional Americana and some clever covers on this wonderful wide ranging album. Piano star Eric Reed joins in for some clever arranging and playing of Monk tunes such as the muscular “Ask Me Now” and full fisted funkified “Rhythm-A-Ning”. Reed teams up with the warm tenor sax of Greg Tardy on a laid back and bluesy and join in with the clever section work as drummer Keith Brown drives the band on “The Road Less Traveled.”
And, of course, we are talking about the Cumberland Gap, so you get a fun and clippety clopped take of “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” with Reed and guitarist Mike Seal riding high in the saddle. The saxes are soft and fluffy on “What The World Needs Now” with a clever Bill Frisell arrangement giving the spotlight to Seal, and Carmen Bradford gets rhythm and bluesy on “ At Last” with Tardy and sultry on an ethereal read of “The Peacocks” with rich solos by Stewart Cox/fh and Michael Dease/tb. Charts with heart.