Guitar styles and fads come and go, but, like wardrobes, certain things remain classic and timeless. Like a navy blue sport jacket, guitarist Jason Goessl and his Jazzerknots Josh Gallagher/p, Jeremy Boettcher/b and Mike Malone/dr serve up small group jazz that fits any occasion and environment. Even better, the tunes are all originals, so while there is definite inspiration, there is no imitation.
Goessl himself has a style and tone that carries the torch from the early days of Lang. There’s a dash of Les Paul and Chet Aktins in his swinging around Malone’s brushes on the nifty title tune while riding the tube like a longboarder over the cymbals on the snappy “Big Chart”. Goessl also has imbibed the tasty note selection of Oscar Moor, giving slinky chords to “Black Cars and Taco Bars” and strutting the blues out on “Steppin’ On The Ave”.
The band takes a Wes Montgomery groove to the four on sixish “Harper Dance” while Gallagher goes Monk to the guitarist’s Wes on the clever “Don’t Crack Jack”, with some hip bass work by Boettcher to boot. Malone’s brushes are as deft as an umpire working the plate on the soft shoe of a Latinized “Can’t Get It Outta My Head” and the team gets into a funky 70s mood with Goessl wacka-wookaing to the backbeat of “Jazz Camp”.
All throughout, the team is as clean and polished as the grill of a ’49 Buick, and cruises like one with a V8 engine. These guys thinking of touring around?