Elijah Rock CD Release@Catalina Jazz Club 08.18.21

It takes a certain kind of artist these days to carry on the torch passed on from the likes of Nat “King” Cole, Freddie Cole, Billy Eckstine and Joe Williams. Judging by the success of Elijah Rock’s 90 minute set celebrating the release of his latest album “Matters of the Heart”, the Midwestern bred and raised crooner just might be the gent to be this generation’s light.

The most difficult hill to climb for any carrier of the Great American Songbook is how to mix well-known standards with some clever obscurities as well as throw in a few originals, and Rock showed his flexible delivery like Mariano Rivera, mixing speeds and going inside and out like a Hall of Fame closer.

Teamed by a swinging collection of Mahesh Balasooriya/p, Rayford Griffin/dr, Ryan Feves/b and Bobby English/ts-as-ss, Rock brought you into his musical world with enthusiasm and encouragement. He was peppy, clear and timed the beat like a hard bopper on standards like “Around The World” and an  Ellington medley of “It Don’t Mean A Thing/Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”. With Balasooriya tapping into his inner Bobby Timmons, Rock did a clever duet intro before giving a hiply pulsed treatment of “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” while the two did an elegant and relaxed “The Shadow Of Your Smile” that was as embracing as it was relaxing.

Joined by English’s breathy tenor, Rock was as smooth as a silk shark skinned suit on the classy yet arcane “Almost In Love” with Feves supplying the soulful undercurrent. Ever the showman, Rock even went into a tap dance routine as he showed that rhythm was his business as he went beat for beat with Griffin on a sensuously tangoed “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” before closing out the song with a long held last note for added tension.

But what might eventually win the day for Rock is his own pen, as his bluesy and nifty “Gershwin For My Soul” and material from his latest album, notably the reflectively autobiographical “Matters of the Heart” and winsome “All I Need Is The Girl” reflect a man that knows how to reach an audience’s heart and soul.

Speaking of soul, Rock closed things out with a nifty gospel pulsed read of “The Good Life” and then brought up local legend Freda Payne for an inspiring duet take of “Unforgettable” before bringing down the juke joint with “Route 66”. The evening showed that Rock’s midwestern musical and life values may seem out of time for some, but they were in fact actually timeless.

Upcoming shows at Catalina’s include Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band 08/21, David Garfield 08/25 and John Pizzarelli 08/26-29

www.catalinajazzclub.com