Customer Reviews

Jay Geils Plays Jazz

5 star:		(5)
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Jay Geils has released a splendid jazz recording that displays his talents in a typically understated way that is the Jay Geils trademark. There is no flash on this CD but just great musicianship and tunes that are fun to hear. Jay Geils has successfully put out a fine jazz record that is part of a larger body of work where no substandard products exist.

This is the single coolest CD I've bought in a long time. J. Geils Band has always been one of my favorites but if it didn't say it on the cover, I'd argue that this isn't the same guy. The difference here is a maturity and polish that Geils has honed over thirty years of playing coming to a head. Smooth, superb playing. Highly deserving of the 5 star rating. Ranks with Peter Wolf's "Sleepless" as the best post-JGB album by any of the guys.

JAY GEILS PLAYS JAZZ! (STONY PLAIN) - Familiar to Rock fans; he led the J. Geils Band that sold millions in the 80's. The 90's found him returning to his Blues roots with a series of Bluestime albums. Recently he has focused his attention in pursuit of a lifetime love affair with Jazz guitar. It started with New Guitar Summit--a collaboration with Gerry Beaudoin and Duke Robillard--and now Jay Geils is favoring us with his first ever solo Jazz release. Plays Jazz proves that heart, soul, and talent is an unbeatable combination, as JG revisits the standards that formed the underpinning to his earliest musical awakenings.


No surprise that the leadoff track, Wholly Cats, salutes the pioneering talents of Charlie Chrisian. Holy Cow! A few even pay tribute to the colorful strains of Western Swing: Bob Wills' I Hear You Talking To Me, and a Wills' version of Benny Goodman's Mission To Moscow. Even Blues Walk--an old Clifford Brown tune-features the classy pedal steel guitar of Frankie Blandino. The band just winged it on this one, and as is often the case, it made for a classic end-of-the-session triumph. My Jazz knowledge is probably best characterized as a lack thereof, so Geils' enlightening liner note synopses proved invaluable. Background was provided, not merely into the reasons behind each of the twelve selections, but also into understanding how they were adapted and re-arranged to fit Jay Geils' specific musical sensibilities and approaches. As an example, he chose to keep things very basic--just a 4-piece combo of keyboards, guitar, and rhythm section--on a reading of Peggy Lee's version of I Hear You Talkin' To Me, as well as on Duke Ellington's Solitude; figuring the delicate melodies should be allowed to just speak for themselves. Words that bear repeating! Further evidence of JG's incisive instincts was his choice of Coleman Hawkin's It's The Talk Of The Town as the perfect tune to bump into at some groovy little joint in the wee wee hours. Featuring the esteemed Scott Hamilton on tenor sax, this is a classic Jazz ballad that's best appreciated while sipping on a gin and tonic. Set 'em up Joe! A couple of Bill Dogget's extra-Bluesy sides are welcoming additions: Honey Boy and Hot Ginger. They also afforded Jay Geils the opportunity to pay heartfelt homage to Billy Butler--the quintessentially tasty picker behind Doggett. L.B. Blues is a selection that belongs within the Jazz domain, but Jay Geils superbly conveys the cool Blues sound that kept things ultra-interesting in the late 50's and early 60's. The interplay between Jay's guitar and Greg Piccolo's tenor sax on Roland Kirk's Funk Underneath is sublime, and Al Wilson's liquid tones on the those B-3 ivories put the proverbial icing atop this scrumptious double-layered cake. Jay Geils Plays Jazz reveals a player at the top of his game: a humble and fully engaged music scholar with an intense appreciation of the past, especially those undeniable linkages that conjoin Jazz and Blues. But the bottom line is that Jay Geils swings so very convincingly, and he ensures that tradition is done proud. MP3-

The title of Jay Geils' solo debut is Jay Geils Plays Jazz!, but for many listeners that exclamation mark should be substituted with a question mark, since Geils has long been associated with the raw, greasy, house-party blues-rock of the J. Geils Band, which seems a million miles away from jazz. Thing is, for as down and dirty as the JGB got, they were always exceptional musicians, something that was proven in Geils' '90s blues band with Magic Dick, Bluestime. That latter outfit gave Geils room to grow as a guitarist, as did his other project, the New Guitar Summit, and the full extent of his transformation to jazz guitarist is shown on Jay Geils Plays Jazz! This is firmly grounded in '50s bop, favoring the laid-back nature of cool but the chops of hard bop, and it dabbles in big bands, blues, and swing, including Western swing in the form a nifty version of Bob Wills' "I Hear You Talkin' to Me." While there are no great surprises here, Geils has supple support from pianist/organist Al Wilson, bassist John Turner, and drummer Gordon Grottenthaler, plus some nice spotlights from saxophonists Scott Hamilton, Greg Piccolo, and Crispin Cioe. Geils himself is tasteful and engaging throughout, making this album a thoroughly enjoyable first foray into jazz for the guitarist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

JAY GEILS PLAYS JAZZ! (STONY PLAIN) - Familiar to Rock fans; he led the J. Geils Band that sold millions in the 80's. The 90's found him returning to his Blues roots with a series of Bluestime albums. Recently he has focused his attention in pursuit of a lifetime love affair with Jazz guitar. It started with New Guitar Summit--a collaboration with Gerry Beaudoin and Duke Robillard--and now Jay Geils is favoring us with his first ever solo Jazz release. Plays Jazz proves that heart, soul, and talent is an unbeatable combination, as JG revisits the standards that formed the underpinning to his earliest musical awakenings.


No surprise that the leadoff track, Wholly Cats, salutes the pioneering talents of Charlie Chrisian. Holy Cow! A few even pay tribute to the colorful strains of Western Swing: Bob Wills' I Hear You Talking To Me, and a Wills' version of Benny Goodman's Mission To Moscow. Even Blues Walk--an old Clifford Brown tune-features the classy pedal steel guitar of Frankie Blandino. The band just winged it on this one, and as is often the case, it made for a classic end-of-the-session triumph. My Jazz knowledge is probably best characterized as a lack thereof, so Geils' enlightening liner note synopses proved invaluable. Background was provided, not merely into the reasons behind each of the twelve selections, but also into understanding how they were adapted and re-arranged to fit Jay Geils' specific musical sensibilities and approaches. As an example, he chose to keep things very basic--just a 4-piece combo of keyboards, guitar, and rhythm section--on a reading of Peggy Lee's version of I Hear You Talkin' To Me, as well as on Duke Ellington's Solitude; figuring the delicate melodies should be allowed to just speak for themselves. Words that bear repeating! Further evidence of JG's incisive instincts was his choice of Coleman Hawkin's It's The Talk Of The Town as the perfect tune to bump into at some groovy little joint in the wee wee hours. Featuring the esteemed Scott Hamilton on tenor sax, this is a classic Jazz ballad that's best appreciated while sipping on a gin and tonic. Set 'em up Joe! A couple of Bill Dogget's extra-Bluesy sides are welcoming additions: Honey Boy and Hot Ginger. They also afforded Jay Geils the opportunity to pay heartfelt homage to Billy Butler--the quintessentially tasty picker behind Doggett. L.B. Blues is a selection that belongs within the Jazz domain, but Jay Geils superbly conveys the cool Blues sound that kept things ultra-interesting in the late 50's and early 60's. The interplay between Jay's guitar and Greg Piccolo's tenor sax on Roland Kirk's Funk Underneath is sublime, and Al Wilson's liquid tones on the those B-3 ivories put the proverbial icing atop this scrumptious double-layered cake. Jay Geils Plays Jazz reveals a player at the top of his game: a humble and fully engaged music scholar with an intense appreciation of the past, especially those undeniable linkages that conjoin Jazz and Blues. But the bottom line is that Jay Geils swings so very convincingly, and he ensures that tradition is done proud. MP3-