Ballet of the Bouncing Beagles in Bloomington, MN

In league with his local big-band colleagues, drummer/composer (and onetime
Tonight Show
arranger)
Phil Kelly
's second album since a Grammy nomination for
Convergence Zone
figures heavily with references to music past as well as a handful of nice fresh ideas. The album opens in pure jump jazz form with
"Play Tonic Buds"
-- and just maybe a hint of the old
theme. The push slows down a fair amount with the subtle but carefully loping
"Limehouse Blues,"
then walks the line between Sunday afternoon jazz and Latin-flared jazz with the title track. A bit of New Orleans creeps into
"Ewe Doo on Bubbas Shoux"
and there is an overly relaxed approach to a lazy afternoon in
"Rainshadow,"
along with a tribute to North Texas writing via dropped chord progressions.
"B D Bunz"
takes in bits of soul-jazz and
Quincy Jones
scoring in equal measure; Latin is tried more directly in
"Estos Frijoles Causa Me Falta Pasar a los Vientos,"
with something of
Dizzy Gillespie
's blaring approach to Afro-Cuban stylings in the arrangement; and
"Grover"
stands as a straightforward piece of smooth jazz in tribute to
Grover Washington, Jr.
, though there are touches and idioms from other pieces of jazz history hidden away (was that a horn riff from
Head Hunters
?). The album ends with a relative bang, moving back to more stereotypical big-band jump again (just as it started) and blasting its way through a frantic seven minutes of solos and group hits before collapsing into a final musical heap. The album has a little bit of everything, but never carries one form quite long enough to sound coherent. Outstanding playing and fine compositions all around, just perhaps in need of some reordering. ~ Adam Greenberg