Michael Brecker
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
Verve-314 547 844 2

Personnel: Michael Brecker, tenor saxophone; Pat Metheny, guitar; Larry Goldings, organ; Elvin Jones, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Bill Stewart, drums

Tracks: Arc of the Pendulum, Sound Off, Half Past Late, Timeline, The Morning of This Night, Renaissance Man, Dr. Slate, As I Am, Outrance

Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York; mixed at Right Track, New York; James Farber, engineer.

This new CD by Michael Brecker features Kansas City's own Pat Metheny, organist Larry Goldings, and alternating tracks featuring not one but three of the most energetic and accomplished drummers playing jazz today: Elvin Jones, Bill Stewart and Jeff "Tain" Watts.

Time Is Of the Essence is an album of original tunes. All groove hard, and not one disappoints. "Sound Off" written by Goldings begins with organ and guitar playing a brisk, syncopated quarter note line.

Brecker follows with his "Half Past Late," which grooves to an understated, almost coy melody. Metheny solos on this one, displaying measured grace. He's one of our own just as much as Bobby Watson and Kevin Mahogany -- those who once called this town home. We will always welcome them back.

"Renaissance Man," is dedicated to the late, great, innovative, bop tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris. Goldings brings it on home with soulful organ work during the melody, then offers a little bit of everything during his solo: some vibrato, some sharp-edged staccato, a bridge that sings. Stewart drives the tune with quarter note clicks; George Whitty, the album producer, is this song's composer.

On "Dr. Slate," written by Brecker, the melody plays over a 6/8 drum pattern, reminding this listener of the stop and go sound of rush hour traffic in the city.

"As I Am," by Metheny, is a ballad reminiscent in mood to Mingus' "For Harry Carney." Brecker and Metheny introduce the piece with a haunting, yearning duet.

The last tune, "Outrance," is worth the price of the album. It opens with a rare drum solo intro by Elvin Jones which mimics the tune's melody, a syncopated stair-step ascension. During his own solo Brecker holds a pace and intensity as frenzied as that of 'Trane during one of his freer solos. He frantically searches and finds his way while the organ cuts out and the only accompaniment is a roll of motion from the drums.

What a finale'!
What an outrance!

-- Kevin Rabas

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Bob Brookmeyer
New Art Orchestra
NEW WORKS/Celebration
Challenge Records CHR-70066

Personnel: Bob Brookmeyer, composer, valve trombone; Marko Lackner, Stefan Pfeifer, alto saxes; Paul Heller, Nils van Haften, tenor saxes; Marcus Bartelt, baritone sax; Thorsten Berkenstein, Torsten Mass, Sebastian Strempel, Ralf Hesse, Jorg Engels, trumpets; Ludwig Nuss, Ansgar Striepens, Christian Jakso, Edward Partyka, trombones; Kris Goessens, piano; Jurgen Grimm, keyboard; Ingmar Heller, bass; John Hollenbeck, drums; Christopher Dell, percussion; Scott Robinson, solo baritone sax on "Celebration"

Tracks: Celebration Jig, Celebration Slow Dance, Celebration Remembering, Celebration Two And, Idyll, Duets, Cameo, Boom Boom

Recorded July 28-30, 1997 at Bauer Studio, Ludwigsburg, Germany; Carlos Albrecht, engineer.

I announced to the world some years ago that I was over big band music. Forty seasons of playing, teaching and listening to big band music had lessened the chills I used to get from Kenton, Herman and the like. But there was always a caveat -- the music of Bob Brookmeyer. I have always encountered the new music of Brookmeyer with a sense of freshness and, well, awe. His music is consistently awesome, in the old and un-worn-out use of the term.

Thus it was a joy to be asked to review New Works by the New Art Orchestra, music by Bob Brookmeyer. I originally heard a good bit of this music some fifteen months ago, lying on the carpeted floor of the Brookmeyer studio, high atop a mountain in New Hampshire. The tapes were not finally mixed, but the music had the usual Brookmeyer ability to move souls in a very positive direction.

Challenge Records has now released New Works, and it is superb. Bob's music is once again both backward and forward looking, strongly reminiscent of Thad and Stan and Duke, while always fresh and clean and now. And swinging! Whether penning "Celebration" for Gerry Mulligan, "Idyll" for Lee Konitz, or "Duets" for the West German Radio Big Band and Mel Lewis, or the several compositions newly written for the New Art Orchestra, Bob's writing is a constant challenge for player and listener alike. Both, with a little work, get enormous rewards.

This debut recording of the New Art Orchestra took place during a four-day session near Stuttgart. Primary soloists include Scott Robinson on baritone sax, Kris Goessens (Brookmeyer's recent musical soul mate; see JAM, April/May 1995) on piano, Paul Heller on tenor sax, and, of course, Brookmeyer on trombone. As with the Ellington band of the '30s and beyond, it is difficult to imagine the soloists without the music and the music without the soloists. The writing seems to accentuate the soloing, and the soloing re-enforces and elevates the writing: a wonderful marriage of composition and improvisation.
Bob Brookmeyer is a consummate composer. The music that he writes is not just jazz, not just modern, and not just a demonstration of his roots. The music that he writes is just fine music, with all of the necessary and sought after musicality in place. No fan of the art of music should deny themselves numerous listenings to this masterful CD.

-- John Leisenring

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Joe Cartwright
LA LUNA NEGRA
Amazon Records ARCD-1229

Personnel: Joe Cartwright, piano; Steve Rigazzi, bass; Doug Auwarter, drums, percussion; Gary Helm, percussion

Tracks: Saudade, Manteca, Jacob's Ladder, Samba Feliz, La Luna Negra, Peruchin, Cold Duck Time, On Fire

Recorded June 7, July 28, 1999 at Soundtrek Studios, Kansas City, MO; Ron Ubel, engineer.

On a past visit to Kansas City, after burrowing through the "Local Artist" bin at a Westport record store, I bought, sight unseen and sound unheard, a cassette titled Triplicity, by the Joe Cartwright Trio. What a score! That tape offers some of the sweetest piano trio work this side of Tommy Flanagan and remains one of my Desert Island Picks.

Thereafter, I tried to hear Joe Cartwright whenever I returned to Kansas City, whether he was playing solo at a hotel or appearing with an ensemble at a club. Each time I pestered him with the same question: Was he going to record more with a small combo? Each time he responded with patience and politeness, but each time I sensed that he was no longer in a Triplicity groove and had no plans to return.

With the release of La Luna Negra ("The Black Moon"), I am delighted to report that my bread is buttered on both sides. This CD combines the cool, crispness of a small combo with the crackle and scorch of a Havana hot spot.

The playing is superb, the arrangements intelligent, and the song selection perfect for this Latin/Brazilian sound. "Manteca" (Spanish for "grease"), by the great Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo and Dizzy Gillespie (who wrote the bridge), is the anthem of Afro-Cuban jazz. Dizzy's famous recording featured a big band fronted by a trumpet; Cartwright's quartet offers a lighter piano out front, but with every bit as much rhythm behind it. Sometimes, after all, the tropics offer a cool breeze across that hot sand.

Joe Cartwright has recorded Cedar Walton's sophisticated and mystical "Jacob's Ladder" before (on The Clear Sounds of Kansas City Jazz, produced in 1989 by Sprint), but not with the Latin tinge his quartet offers here. It works beautifully.

I admit to a strong prejudice toward "Cold Duck Time," because the album on which it first appeared, Swiss Movement (Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival), by Les McCann and composer Eddie Harris, was among the first "jazz" albums I purchased. That said, Cartwright's version is rendered with as much funk, and even more percussion, than the original. The other tunes offer equal elegance and style, with plenty of equatorial spices.

La Luna Negra pleases on every level: notes, phrases, solos and songs. Even rarer, it will please straightahead traditionalists as well as Latin music aficionados. The only problem with this CD is that it may force you to find a new spot on your list of Desert Island Picks.

-- Gregg Ottinger

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Pete Eye
BY REQUEST
PopEye Productions
PE-103032

Personnel: Pete Eye, piano; Bob Branstetter, bass; Al Wiley, drums

Tracks: I've Never Been In Love Before, Take Five, Everything Happens To Me, Have You Met Miss Jones, It Might As Well Be Spring, Li'l Darlin', Good Bait, "Praeludium" from Well Tempered Clavier/Scratch My Bach/No Moon At All, But Beautiful, I'm Getting Sentimental Over You, Girl From Ipanema, You Don't Know What Love Is, Love For Sale

Recorded at Soundtrek Studios, Kansas City, MO; Ron Ubel, engineer.

The first thing one notices about By Request is the list of wonderful standards. "But Beautiful," "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," "Take Five;" yes, even "Girl From Ipanema." The musicians on this recording not only know jazz, but they know the great songs and songwriters of the twentieth century.

With multiple decades behind them as Kansas City jazz musicians, pianist Pete Eye, bassist Bob Branstetter and drummer Al Wiley know this music and they know what to do with it. All three have plenty of room for solos here, and each contributes so very tastefully.

By Request is much like eavesdropping on the private musical world of Eye and Branstetter (whose association dates back to 1966 and the KC Playboy Club) and the versatile Wiley (a product of UMKC's Conservatory of Music). It's acoustic jazz, all instrumental, straightahead, no gimmicks of any kind.

The arrangements on By Request cut straight to the meat of the material. Case in point: Neal Hefti's Basie classic, "Li'l Darlin." Same with "Everything Happens to Me," a personal favorite ever since Charlie Parker With Strings.

Tadd Dameron is represented with "Good Bait," Cole Porter's easily recognizable 1930 standard "Love For Sale" is done quite tastefully, and there's the aforementioned "But Beautiful" by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Huesen.

An album bonus that gives this release an added poignancy are the liner notes written by the late Dick Wright. As always, Dick paints an informative picture while showing his love for jazz. He concludes by saying, "Well, there you have it: great songs and great players. It all adds up to a very fine release."

It couldn't have been said better.

-- Bill O'Connor

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Genie Grant
TRAV'LIN' LIGHT
dpzJAZZ-3064

Personnel: Genie Grant, vocals; Dave Zoller, piano; Mike Drake, drums; Fred Hamilton, bass, guitar; Pete Brewer, flute, soprano sax

Tracks: Lover, May I Come In, Summertime, Trav'lin' Light, I Wish I Knew, Speak Low, Early Autumn, I Didn't Know What Time It Was, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, If I Were a Bell, Body and Soul, What Is This Thing Called Love?, Tired, When October Goes, Anything Goes, Lost In the Stars

Recorded July 12, 14, 16, 1999 at Big Time Audio, Dallas, TX; Steve Browne, engineer.

There are many singers with God-given good voices. But, too few of them have learned how to use the gift to maximum advantage. On this 16-song collection, Genie Grant demonstrates that she has made the most of her gift and has honed her craft well over the years.

For instance, she not only enunciates the words that were created with care by some of America's greatest lyricists, she clearly shows that she has bothered to learn what they mean. That's something a lot of singers, some major ones among them, don't always do.

Some say it's a safe bet when recording to choose time-tested, gorgeous standards. That is what Genie Grant has done here; but it's a challenge not everyone can rise to. What can a singer bring to these standards that is new? Unexpected tempos? Perhaps switching from a usual Latin beat to a waltz? That may work for some. But what really matters is this: If the singer (or any performer) gives familiar songs one's whole self -- without affectation or gimmicks, just whatever is inside -- that can make the oldest of evergreens into a new piece. (Assuming the artist has an interior of substance to begin with.)

That's what I get from listening to Genie Grant. And on this recording she is hanging out with Johnny Mercer (three selections), Larry Hart (two), Porter (two), Harbach, Loesser and others. There are also a couple of ringers by comic poet Ogden Nash and playwright Maxwell Anderson. Less skilled singers could destroy everything these composers wrote, but Grant leads us into each piece with a sense of anticipation. She's going to interpret them her way, and it will be a revelation each time.

Most of these tracks run about four minutes, which gives the backup trio time to stretch. Pianist Dave Zoller (Grant's husband and once a prominent member of the KC jazz scene in the '60s) is in excellent form. But the real eye-opener is bassist Fred Hamilton. He provides value added to each tune's changes and he supports everything and everybody along the way. When you hear a bassist laying down the underlying framework of any good song with authority, you know he's also making it easier for the other performers in the group.

My favorite track -- today, anyway -- is the title tune, "Trav'lin' Light" in which Zoller takes a nice excursion, while never forgetting the work at hand.

-- Bill Fogarty

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Interstring
WINTER SONG
CD-0698

Personnel: Bob Bowman, acoustic bass; Todd Strait, drums; Danny Embrey, electric guitar; Rod Fleeman, acoustic guitar

Tracks: Forever, I Hope, Kalarama Rex, The Peacock, Election '92, Tragedy at Dunblaine, I'm Old Fashioned, New Year, Hawaiian Nights, Winter Song

Recorded June 1998 at Soundtrek Studio, Kansas City, MO; Ron Ubel, engineer.

Flash: Interstring, the quartet made up of four of KC's best known jazz musicians, has released a fabulous new CD.

Winter Song features nine tracks totaling some fifty-nine minutes of unusually synchronous ensemble playing. With Interstring, the common goal is clearly the thing, as opposed to individual pyrotechnics (though there's some of that here, too, when appropriate). The rare compatibility between the group's members allows this follow up to 1997's Odahoda to achieve extraordinary results.

Bassist and leader Bob Bowman wrote four tunes, including the subtle "Forever, I Hope," a fun medium-swinger, "Kalarama Rex," and "New Year," a complex creation featuring so many aural treats it's hard to know where to begin. Bob even contributed a unique solo piece, the beautiful (and virtuosic) "Tragedy at Dunblaine."

Electric guitarist Danny Embrey provided the title track, bright, positive and reminiscent of Pat Metheny (indeed, Danny plays some similar 'soulful thirds' in his solo). His playing throughout this project is exemplary; shades of John Scofield are heard in Embrey's rich vocabulary.

The superlative Rod Fleeman, on acoustic guitar, authored two tracks: the winsome "Election '92" (a Latin-pop tune a la Keith Jarrett's "Lucky Southern" featuring excellent solos from all) and "Hawaiian Nights," an evocative ballad featuring subtle shades of a Bolero-type rhythm.

While drummer Todd Strait contributes no original tunes, his playing must be noted. Some of the finest drumming one is ever likely to hear can be found throughout this project, notably on "Kalarama Rex" (first on brushes and then on sticks), "New Year" (where he and Bowman hold everything together beautifully during this somewhat 'free' tune) and "Winter Song." Accomplished technical drummers like Todd who are also so musically sophisticated are exceptional finds indeed.

Interstring also tackles Jimmy Rowles' exotically beautiful "The Peacock," made famous by Bill Evans, and Jerome Kern's "I'm Old-Fashioned," featuring an attractive arrangement with a wonderfully-realized modal ending not unlike that of Brubeck's "In Your Own Sweet Way."

Bill McGlaughlin contributed the two-panel liner notes, Soundtrek's Ron Ubel did yet another outstanding engineering job, and Keith Kavanaugh's design work proves up to his usual lofty standards. Even Scott Braley's abstract cover art is gorgeous -- a perfect visual representation of the music.

What a way to welcome the new year! Hearing new music played on such a high level is certainly an exciting treat.

-- Paul Hofmann

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Stan Kessler
JAZZ MEETS CHANT
Jazz Adaptations of Gregorian Chant
Standing Bear SB42952

Personnel: Stan Kessler, trumpet, flugelhorn; Doug Talley, tenor saxophone; Wayne Hawkins, piano, synthesizer; Bill McKemy, bass; Todd Strait, drums, percussion

Tracks: Divinum Mysterium, Victimae Paschali Laudes, Conditor Alma Siderum, Stabat Mater Dolorosa, Dies Irae, Pange Lingua Gloriosi, Veni Creator Spiritus, Adoro Te Devote, O Filii et Filiae

Recorded live, September 29-30, 1999 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City, MO; Ron Sondag, engineer.

Combine the beauty of Gregorian chant with the sounds of jazz, and what do you get? A very fine collection of music that is both spiritually and musically rewarding.

Having grown up in the Episcopal church, I was already familiar with several of these chants -- particularly the gorgeous "Divinum Mysterium" ("Of The Father's Love Begotten"). So it was a pleasant surprise hearing Stan Kessler's adaptations of such recognizable material.

Recorded in KC's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kessler's quintet integrates the 'old' with the 'new' most effectively. Each of the nine chants are first sung a cappella by six chanters (in "Dies Irae," Stan and Doug Talley alternate phrases with the chanters). Five chants are sung in English and four in the conventional Latin, and the singing is traditionally performed, the chanters sticking to unisons, fifths and octaves.

This harmonic simplicity provides an ideal contrast for Kessler's quintet arrangements which follow (save "Conditor...", a piano trio featuring a Bill Evans-like coda), ranging through various jazz styles. Stan plays some wonderful trumpet and flugel throughout, principally on "Victimae..." and "Adoro...", where he improvises some exquisite phrases. Talley's tenor sax complements Kessler wonderfully, notably on "Pange..." (with Talley creating some flowing Coltrane/Shorter-like lines).

The rhythm section brings the sensibilities of the 1960s Miles Davis Quintet to this music. Wayne Hawkins invents some nice Hancock-influenced things, particularly on "Adoro...", and even adds some synthesizer string pads to "Veni,...". Bill McKemy plays interesting bass lines that never interfere while always feeling right. And drummer Todd Strait contributes his uncommon sensitivity, in particular on "Stabat Mater...", "Pange" and "Veni,...", where he improvises a memorable 5/4 solo. Even his drum tuning is excellent here, as Todd devises some truly melodic (even tonal) phrases.

"Stabat Mater" warrants special mention. A modal adaptation follows the chant, sounding somewhat frantic while 'open' at the same time. This is stylistically inspired, especially given the chant's text -- indeed, the chanters briefly re-enter over the musicians. Beautiful integration, with everyone sounding great. "Dies Irae" is perhaps the standout track: following the chant, the quintet launches into an upbeat shuffle. This seems a consummate way to adapt "Dies Irae" for jazz; to this day, New Orleans street bands play mournful dirges on the way to the funeral/cemetery, and upbeat rhythmic music heading back into town!

I also found Kessler's liner notes to be helpful and informative, especially his brief histories and explanations of the chants themselves.

-- Paul Hofmann

Note: There will be a "Jazz Meets Chant" concert on Sunday, February 20, 3:00 p.m., at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 11th & Broadway.

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Pat Morrissey/Artt Frank
SOUVENIR
MJA Records
CDMJA-513

Personnel: Pat Morrissey, trumpet, flugelhorn; Artt Frank, drums, vocal; Harold Danko, piano; Phil Bowler, bass; Ken Barry, tenor sax, flute; Kathy Frank, drums ("Solar")

Tracks: Beatrice, Lonely Walk/Memories of Chet, Tidal Breeze, Souvenir, Funk in Deep Freeze, Arttwork, I'm Old Fashioned, Solar, Softly As In a Morning Sunrise

Recorded at Chapman Recording Studios, Kansas City, MO; Rick Kloog, engineer.

Sou-ve-nir n. [Fr., to remember; L. subvenire, to come to mind...] something kept or serving as a reminder of place, person, or occasion; keepsake; memento --Webster's Dictionary

Trumpeter/flugelhornist Pat Morrissey is a Kansas City musician who has also performed in New York, Hong Kong and L.A. He has maintained an interest in a variety of genres while leading ensembles such as the Shakehouse Horns (a Tower of Power-style funk-jazz-r&b outfit), his own Pat Morrissey Quartet (swing, bebop and fusion), and he has hung out with and learned from such KC Elder Statesmen as Booker Samuels and "Step-Buddy" Anderson. He has also worked as a sideman with such KC bandleaders as David Basse and Diane "Mama" Ray.

His last CD, PM Time (Chasmore Records), featured his quartet/quintet on an infectious straightahead set of standards and blues backed by Arny Young on drums, Greg Meise on piano, and Micah Herman on bass. On Souvenir, his most recent effort, he moves into a more poetic realm.

Morrissey has fine technique, a natural feel for jazz and blues, and a lyrical melodic gift. He is also an entertainer known to "get house" with powerful crowd-pleasing displays of formidable chops. Nothing wrong with that, but those who have tried to peg him as a "high-note" entertainer will appreciate, upon hearing Souvenir, that there is more to Morrissey than that. Here any bravura playing is exchanged for a far more reflective and introspective meditation on space, time and melos.

Morrissey's mentor on this project is Artt Frank, the talented drummer from the East Coast who worked with legendary trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker in the 1970s. Frank, who calls himself "a 100 per cent hear and ear player," has been welcomed in local jazz circles during his visits to the KC branch of his family. Following the 1997 release of his CD, Waltz for Sharon Stone (reviewed in JAM, Aug./Sept. '98), he began to consider another recording project.

Hearing in Morrissey's trumpet "the same feeling, maturity, discipline and control" embodied in Baker's "lyrically understated manner," Frank brought together the personnel and material for this recording around a poetic theme: a "souvenir" drawn from memories and material associated with his experiences playing with and knowing Chet Baker.

The players came together in KC for a successful one-nighter at Fedora on the Plaza, then went into the studio over the next couple of days. Frank's old pals pianist Harold Danko (also a Chet Baker alum) and bassist Phil Bowler came in from the east to round out the rhythm section, saxophonist/flutist Ken Barry, already in KC, was asked to join Morrissey on the front line, and Kathy Frank (Artt's daughter) was picked to play drums on a track.

Tunes such as "Beatrice," "Funk in Deep Freeze" and "Tidal Breeze" allude to some of Baker's favorite repertoire (he recorded "Beatrice" numerous times). And three originals (which Frank co-wrote with Graham Bruce) include the title track "Souvenir," "Arttwork" and the pensive and reverential ballad "Lonely Walk/Memories of Chet Baker."

Frank's deft brushwork gives this set a quiet but intense drive, Morrissey's most thoughtful playing to date is well matched with Ken Barry's careful tenor and ebullient flute, Danko and Bowler always smoke and surprise, and Kathy Frank holds her own on Miles' "Solar."

Although the work of each player deserves further comment, suffice it to say that the whole combined effort adds up to something greater than the sum of its parts: throughout Souvenir, individual voices are subsumed within a single, higher, common purpose.
The result is a very successful tribute album that is a pleasure to listen to again and again.

-- Rich Hill

There will be a CD release party for Souvenir at the downtown Phoenix Piano Bar & Grill on Saturday, February 19, 4:00-8:00 p.m. -- Ed.

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Ed Pharr
BoBAY BoDAY
Edcetera CD-16799

Personnel: Ed Pharr, piano, Stan Kessler, trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion; Doug Talley, tenor/soprano sax; Danny Embrey, guitar; Lonnie Elliott, bass; Allen Unklesbay, drums

Tracks: BoBay BoDay, Somewhere In the Night ("Naked City" Theme), Dynaflo, When You Go Away, I Thought About You, Topsy, Pete Kelly's Blues, Tootie's Mayfair, Milton's Mood, Tierra del Fuego

Recorded June 19, July 10, 1999 at Soundtrek Studios, Kansas City, MO; Ron Ubel, engineer.

If you haven't already heard the latest grooves from Ed Pharr and colleagues, you're in for a nice ride. There isn't a single bump in the road on this one.

Pharr serves double duty as pianist and producer, and judging by the way things swing at this affair, he appears to be quite comfortable at both posts. The title track, "BoBay BoDay," is a medium-tempo arrangement that could have easily come from Miles' Birth of the Cool. It has that same laid back, West Coast feel, with Pharr comping gently while the front line delivers a melodic contour that places Stan Kessler and Doug Talley in the respective roles of Chet Baker and Stan Getz.

"Somewhere in the Night" is a prime example of how well Allen Unklesbay captures the true essence of a bossa groove by laying down a solid rhythm track for guitarist Danny Embrey to supply a simple, yet elegantly stated guitar melody, delivered in that rich, caramel tone we all have come to anticipate. Pharr takes it from there with a succinct solo that sustains the mood. Kudos to Ron Ubel for the excellent mixing job done on this particular track.

Some of the tastiest solos by Talley, Kessler and Pharr can be heard on "Dynaflo," which has as smooth a groove as the name implies. Each foray accurately reflects the composition itself -- short and to the point.

Meanwhile, Embrey cruises through the changes of another Pharr original, "When You Go Away," as if he'd penned it himself. He navigates the course with the kind of ease that can only be achieved when one has mastered the art of the jazz progression.

Pharr has provided some comfortable changes for Talley and Kessler to blow over in another original "Tootie's Mayfair," and his straightforward take on "I Thought About You" is an excellent example of how one needn't try to improve on what has already been established as a classic.

A springy arrangement of "Topsy" is both aggressive and laid back, which is a sure sign that the rhythm section is locked in. Talley and Kessler's joyous back-and-forth banter toward the end of the tune reveals just how comfortable the two are with each other, wrestling for the fun of it.

Stan Kessler has plenty of room to roam on "Pete Kelly's Blues" and he takes full advantage of the opportunity, playing some of the most beautiful lines on the album.

Talley's pure, delicate tone on "Milton's Mood" is just the right touch, and serves as the perfect counterbalance to the carefully crafted lines that Pharr offers. Of course, Embrey responds by delivering the perfect speech, and sounds as if he's thoroughly enjoying himself in the process. Lonnie Elliott and Allen Unkelsbay get props for pocket maintenance on this slow, smoldering ballad.

The closer is a warm samba, "Tierra del Fuego," which gets you there and back in under three and half minutes, thanks to the solid work by bassist Elliott who keeps things hustling along. It's a fun journey because each soloist casually demonstrates an ability to say so much in so little time.

All in all, this music just gets better upon each hearing. Ed Pharr has assembled an excellent team to accompany him on this road, and the six originals on this CD are excellent vehicles if you're in the mood for a cruise.

-- Wayne Goins
 

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