Chasin' the Spots in Bloomington, MN

For this unusual CD, guitar-singer
Marty Grosz
and a few overlapping all-star groups of small-group
swing
players perform a variety of songs that were recorded in the 1930s and '40s by
the Ink Spots
. Although
Grosz
takes vocals on many of the numbers, there is no attempt to imitate the popular vocal group.
simply sings in his usual good-natured
Fats Waller
-inspired style. Since many of these songs are excellent
standards
, the combos (two quartets and one sextet) have no difficulty coming up with hot solos and riffs to uplift the tunes. Among the key solo stars are cornetist and trombonist
Randy Reinhart
, trumpeter
Jon-Erik Kellso
, and the reeds of
Scott Robinson
,
Vince Giordano
, and
Dan Block
. As is true of virtually all
's CDs,
Chasin' the Spots
is highly enjoyable and infectious. ~ Scott Yanow