Doesn’t it feel like music gets too serious sometimes, especially jazz? Here are couple of albums that put the fun back into swing.
Clarinetist Glenn Dickson brings together Gary Bohan/ct, Michael Mclaughlin/acc, Andrew Stern/g, Jim Gray/tub and Eric Rosenthal/dr for a mix of trad jazz and Eastern European klezmer. The use of Gray’s tuba as a bass line is a work of genius, as hebounces along merrily with the reeds on the title track and leads the oompah-ing horns as Dickson trudges with Bohan through “Boss shabbos.” Danceable Freilichs have the horns prancing non “Turkisher” while some eerie guitar hovers over the tuba and percussion on the tensile “Calabria.” The shtetl is rocking on “Klez Spiritual” and the thick reeds hold gloriously agonizing long notes on “Sitting In Some Train…” Form a circle and grab a partner!
You know you’re in for a good time when the team of Chris Cheek/ts, Jorge Rossy/dr-vib, David Soler/steelg, Steve Cardenas/g and Jaume Llombard/b are dressed as Arabic minstrels in the album sleeve. Cheek is definitely tongue in cheek with lighthearted and easy swinging pieces that include twanging guitars with his warm tenor on ”String Finger” and the late night “Forever Green” . Some Dick dale guitar licks ride the surf on “Bucky’s Blues” and the vibes tumble with the base on a boogie’d “Eye Factory.” Some wonderfully maudlin moments pop up on the melodic and clean “Alhambros” and “Slow Ships” which have Cheeks milking the notes for every schmaltzy breath, while the team rocks on “Strawberry Jam” with Cheek driving home in a V8. Good times and good time.