If you’re a fan of vintage Blue Note sounding jazz, but don’t want to look back, check out this debut album by guitarist PJ Rasmussen. He puts together a cooking little team of Nate Giroux/ts, Danny Reyes/tp-fh, Steve Johns/dr, Adrean Moring/b and Chris Pattinhall/p (and Kelly Green for a couple quick poems) and the go from steaming hard bop (“Avionic” and “Waxing and Wayne-ing”) to funky yet elliptical grooves (“ Kickin’ the Can”). Afro-Cuban sounds sizzle on “Stolen Miracles” and through all of these themes, the mix of a straightahead hard bop quintet front line with the augmentation of Rasmussen’s varied six stringing keeps things quite exciting. Soulful linear lines are provided on “Baden Hill” while a bit of Cream is on the top of “Sunday Driver.” The electric axe gives the session a meaty dimension. You’ll like this one a lot. Encore!
Third Freedom Music