5.0 out of 5 stars
His music is a tuxedo with black sneakers., January 8, 2006
This review is from: What 4 (Audio CD)
What I love most about Rick Bishop's approach to jazz composition is that he makes the genre perfectly accessible to jazz-impaired people like me. These instrumental pieces are expansive and daring, snatching me from the shore where I'm hesitantly dipping my toes in the musical waves. Next thing I know, I'm snapping my fingers like Sinatra and wishing I had a cigar to smoke and a glass of brandy to swirl.
I'm also hit with a few surprises. While most of these pieces are lush, elegant, and sophisticated, Bishop slips playfully into 50s rock with "Said and Done," a song Elvis would have immediately taught himself to play. I also get the funky, bass-driven "Closets." (Bishop happens to be a bass player).
The instruments sing with passion. The guitar on "Carpe Diem" sounds like a vocalist, its voice earnest and enunciating. In song after song, the low notes stride smoothly, the high notes dance lightly. Tracks like "Orbeth" and "'Nuff Said" have a big band feel. I love the live track, "Tony Bologna," with the frequent applause adding to the warm energy.
This is not a CD where one track blends into the next. Bishop loves his music too much for that. He likes to dart around, pause for mournful interludes, get jaunty with the percussion, then switch gears and put you in a Manhattan cafe sipping cappuccino. His music is a tuxedo with black sneakers. Makes for a pretty hot date on a cold January evening.
-- Jennifer Layton, Indie-Music.com
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