Tuba meister Jim is turning into a musical Charles Kuralt, creating a catalogue of musical journeys with a rotating cast of hitchikers. Here, he brings together Brian Kilgore/perc, Kendall Kay/dr, Ken Wild/b, Bill Cunliffe/p-mel, guitarists John Chiodini/Steve Fister, saxists Tom Peterson/Phil Feather, and brass men Bill Booth/Scott Whitfield/Ron Stout under the baton of Kim Scharnberg for a clever interpretation of American themes.
The horns are elegant on “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” while Peterson has a gas of a time on the Dixielandish “Chicago”. The Oklahoma version of “Kansas City” is a swinging affair with Chiodini and Self riding over the shuffle, while there are a couple clever juxtapositions thrown in, namely a fun “King of Route 66” and a hip “Blue Bayou Bossa” with Peterson paying his union dues. Even “Chattanooga Choo Choo” gets brought up to date, with a hip hop pulse for Self and Feather’s solos, while the team gets into a fugue-a-ditty on “Back Home In Indiana”. My album, tis of Thee!