9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a find!, May 17, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Lava Jazz (Audio CD)
Peter Erskine's Lounge Art Ensemble is a group of fine musicians individually (Erskine [drums] eg Weather Report and lots of sessions; Bob Sheppard [saxes] session blower; Dave Carpenter [bass] session player usually on electric bass or guitar, but upright here). On "Lava Jazz" they captured the spontaneity of a small jazz combo in a '60s jazz club (Erskine effectively plays a 'cocktail drumkit'). Standard jazz tunes redone and renamed highlight the set including "Pesos" [Pennies from Heaven], "I Hear a Rap CD [I Hear a Rhapsody], "Jung at Heart" [Young at Heart], "Pretty Toes' {Perdido]... you get the idea. All the songs are well done, lyrical and tight (considering the spontaneity) but not constraining (plenty of room for solos). Everytime I put this in the disk player, it stays there for weeks. My favorite tune is the"Five Z's"-- a real toe tapper. Erskine's drumming is prominent throughout [driving, but not overbearing and tasteful] and Sheppard's open, full tone on the saxes is pleasing. I'd like to pigeon-hole it as simialr to some other group, but I can't. It is a guarenteed pleaser (trust me, I've got hundreds of jazz CDs is this is one of my top five or ten).
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
