Always great to hear the kind of jazz that provides refreshing, lyrical melody lines that end up resolving themselves in more energetic development and increasing complexity. Some of the tracks play it more mellow throughout, some more uptempo. Really enjoying this one at work! Making me 37% less cranky on stressful days!
I checked out this record through a friend and the 1st thing that grabbed me was the cover. The photo is of an alley on the lower east side that just happens to be in my neighborhood! At 1st listen the record draws you in with some great performances from the leader Rob Deutsch as well as Ben Kono on sax and Mike Holober on piano. Bassist Glenn Grant keeps the groove solid and swingin'. Interesting compositions that had me listening a number of times and still finding something new. This is also a great sounding record so kudos to the mixing engineer. Take a trip to Somewhere Else and you may not want to come back.
This is a wonderful CD. The musicianship is top notch and tight. The songs are melodic and diverse- jazz based, for sure, but nicely accessible to those of us with more pop leaning ears. (And it stands up really well to repeated listenings.) Fine work. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
I really enjoyed this album both in the car and as dinner background. I particularly liked "Escapade" and have listened to the CD front-to-back several times in the last month.