Groups doing songs by one man with a pen…
Drummer Bobby Kapp brings together Zach Brock/vi, Aaron Irwin/cl-bcl, Abraham Burton/ts, John Clark/fhorn, Richard Sussman/p and Harvie S/b for an ensemble conducted by Scott Reeves to interpret tunes by the well esteemed pianist.
The mix of violin and clarinet make for a festive feel , as on the easy “Radioactive’ or the contrapuntal “Tweed Boulevard”. The team bops on the title track with a warm solo by Clark, and Irwin’s bass clarinet gurgles through “Trance Dance”. Brock is buoyant around Harvie S’s bass on “Inner Space” and the dark reeds part for the composer on the muted “From The Heart”. The tunes mix the concise feel of West Coast Cool, but with a feel of gypsy jazz. Easy on the ears.
The pen of Michigan-based composer and producer Gregg Hill is delivered and interpreted by the team of Chris Glassman/btb, Nathan Borton/g, Michael J. Reed/dr, Xavier Davis/p and Javier Enrique. The use of a bass trombone in the lead is a brilliant idea, and it works well on the hip jive shuffle of “Come On Down” with Glassman bouncing along the rapid “Elden’s Bop” and gliding over the samba’d “Ristra! Ristra!”. Borton joins in for an ice solo on “Inside Straight” and Davis delivers a rich intro to “I Want To Live”. Enrique is featured on “Never Forget” with Reed getting his moment in the sun on a breezy “Sunny Daze”, with the team wafting through the sublime “Thank You Notes”. The pen works as a sword.