Customer Reviews

Blue State

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Here you have a stunning follow up by the Doug Wamble Quartet. This is how great jazz music (although it is tough to label Wamble, the music is rooted there) is created--you take a band of top notch musicians, and you stay together and evolve as a group. This record is a testament to why this philosophy produces the best new music hitting the market, instead of the normal "star sessions" that are thrown about. The music on those records will be forgotten with time. I have a feeling Doug's won't, and will continue to get better.

Doug Wamble's first album, Country Libations, was an astonishing debut, incorporating of swing, bop, avant-guarde jazz, delta blues, gospel, country, etc. Few artists can so seamlessly blend styles to create something completely new, much less do so on their first albums. Bluestate is a worthy sophomore effort. Wamble did not just attempt to recreate his first album. This album is a bit less eclectic, and falls more cleanly into jazz, but that is not to say that his playing fits into any one tradition. There is a heavy emphasis on vocals here, moreso than on Country Libations. While Wamble's voice is a gospel-blues voice, his phrasing here is closer to bop, even when the instrumental work tends towards swing. Wamble's tone on the guitar is also a bit different here. There is less slide here than on Country Libations, and the tone is more electrified, but the improvisation continues to be unpredictable. Finally, Charles Burnham's violin is missing here, which changes the mood significantly, and steers the album away from Django's gypsy jazz territory, and more towards strictly American styles.

What this album lacks in eclecticism relative to Country Libations, it makes up in focus. The playing here is as tight as it gets. The highest praise I can give this album, though, is that I generally dislike vocal jazz, but I can't get enough of Doug Wamble. Whether picking or singing, he is one of the shining lights in the future of jazz (if this can be called jazz). His first album was completely unique, and he looks like he will continue to evolve.

Basically noone else in the jazz GUITAR world is out there mixing all that history/SWING into a readily identifiable sound. I think more guitar players need to listen to Doug for inspiration...he has taste, knowledge, swing, and a unique sound...continuing in the jazz spirit. Buy this album, its amazing.

This CD was recommeded by a friend who is a very talented professional jazz musician. I respect and value his opinion. I was amazed by how free but beautifully organized the arrangements were of the pieces on the Bluestate CD. Doug Wamble's voice is A+++. If you're looking for a fun listen while being a jazz snob, this is a CD for you.

We was Doug at a concert and liked his work. This CD had only two tracks we liked. Very disappointing!!