Violinist Ben Powell is a fairly new kid on the musical block, but he’s in the right neighborhood here, as his release here displays a tribute to icon Stephane Grappelli in terms of sound and material. He’s got a warm, full bodied European sound to his strings, which works joyfully well on Hot Clubbed inspirational pieces like “Gary,” Piccadilly Stomp” and “La Chanson Des Rues” which include guests Gary Burton/vibes and a lithe Julian Lage/g. With his own quartet of Tadataka Unno/b, Aaron Darrell/b and Devin Drobka/dr he gets a bit more complex and tightens up a bit, as on “Judith” and a fairly unconvincing “La Vie En Rose” but still gets the motor running with a snappy “Swinin’ For Stephane” and warm “What Is This Thing Called Love.” Lots of good sounds and potential fly off of Ben’s bout.
Ben Powell Music