It’s quite oxymoronic to advertise “Unheard Bird”, as even on this album Ken Peplowski and his semi-big band are playing tunes that have been heard many times before. However, the idea of the string section teamed with Terell Stafford/tp, Glenn Zeleski/p, Peter Washington/b and Willie Jones III/dr is still fresh and, under the conducting of Loren Schoenberg, joyfully inspiring.
Peplowski spends a lot of time on the tenor for this session, and Stafford is a bright presence throughout, as on “God Rush” and “I Cover The Waterfront” The strings are dreamy for “You Go To My Head” and moody for “Stardust”, with Peps clear and woody on the licorice stick on “When I Dream Of You” and “You Must Believe In String”. Stafford commands the helm well, as on “Gone With The Wind” and “Summertime” and the charts are sophisticated e as on “Repetition” and the tricky “Ezz-Thethic” . Bird still lives!