Hits from the early days of jazz all through the Boomer years and Broadway are given a pair of dancing shoes by NYC based composer and arranger Wayne Alpern, who brings a who’s who list of musicians to add muscle to popular tunes of the past century.
Among the partiers are David Mann/reeds, Tatum Greenblatt-Brad Mason/tp, Mike Boscarino-Mike David/tb, John Patitucci/b, Andy Ezrin/key, Kevin Ramessar/g, Clint De Ganon/dr and vocalists Cole The VII, Paranoah and Voice of A Nation. You get some VOX and rapp on a get down take of “Dancing In The Streets” with Patitucci laying down a deep rivulet here and also digging deep on a soulful take of “Cantaloupe Island” with fervent post bop alto sax and trumpet. Mann’s soprano serenades with Ezrin’s pretty piano on “Send In The Clowns” while his clarinet rides over the Kentonesque horns on the big and bold “Black Beauty”. 70s style R&B horns get down like it’s an Armenian wedding during “More Than Yesterday” and a funktastic “Gimme Some Lovin’” bends and snaps like Reese Witherspoon. Forget the dj next party, just plug this in.