I’ve been following pianist Josh Nelson’s career, and since he was the house pianist for the Pasadena restaurant Red, White and Blues he has become one of the most important artists in the LA area. This album has him co leading a mix and match team with bassist Bob Bowman and including Bob Sheppard/ts, Clay Jenkins/tp, Steve Houghton/dr and Larry Koonse/g for a mix of originals and standards.
Best known for his swing and bop chops, Nelson plays to his lyrical strengths, Chopinesque with Bowman on the trio take of “Blue In Green”, gently flowing for “Sometime Ago” and hiply bopping on the duet “Nelbows Elbows.” The team bounces deftly for “Your Night Your Music” with Koonse gliding like a long boarder on “Blues For Albert E”. Bowman digs deep with Houghton and Koonse on “Sandra’s Gait” and paints with watercolors for the impressionistic “Yae San”. How LA jazz is supposed to sound.