It’s rare to come across a gent who specializes in the artistry of lyrics and music alone. Such is Al Hammerman, who is working on creating his own songbook, ranging from Tin Pan Alley, to sophisticated jazz and even a dash of C&W. This album has his compositions vocally handled by Erin Bode, Feyza Eren, Arvell Keithley, Brian Owens and Alan Ox, with musical support including a horn section that features Jason Swagler/as with Ben Reece/wwwinds, Andy Techenor/tp and a small group of Mark Maher/key, Phil Ring/g, Zeb Briskovich/b, Miles Vandiver/dr and R. Scott Bryan/perc.
Bode brings out the indie themes, giving a folksy troubadour feel to “Everybody Knows” and “Sad Sunny Day “ and giving chamber parlor feel with strings to “Always Looking Up.” Ox is the Rat Packer of the bunch, getting hip to a swaggering “What Else”, tapping into his inner Jack Jones on a late night “Break Out The Blues” and going Broadway for “Maybe Be Mine”. Bren is snazzy for the cool jazz of “Been Through The Blues” and Ownes is the Buble’-ish pop artists for “Keep Keep’n On”. Overall, it’s very encouraging to hear fresh material that keeps with an American tradition of sound but with a fresh dating.