Soul Food in Bloomington, MN

One thing one can say about this popular swinging
trad jazz
pianist -- he's definitely not selfish when it comes to passing the musical
soul
food around. The punchy, heavy-swaying eight-minute title track begins with a sizzling brass section and then
Marcus Printup
's thoughtful, several-minute trumpet solo, while
Chestnut
takes a supporting harmony role.
"Brother With the Mint Green Vine"
opens with a moody, dark chord foundation (very reminiscent of
Joe Sample
), but is largely fashioned as a duet between
's plucky ivories and
Stefon Harris
' whimsical vibes.
Harris
gets more solo time than his host.
"Fantasia"
has a classic trio sound in the
Vince Guaraldi
vein and is most memorable for
Christian McBride
's inventive upright bass solo over the soft brushes of
Lewis Nash
;
, of course, is at his elegant best, as he is on the one solo showcase he allows himself, a mournful rendition of
"Swing Low Sweet Chariot."
He shows off his improv skills most effectively on the free-for-all trio piece
"Minor Funk."
Just in case listeners should grow complacent that this is just another multifaceted
jazz
project,
tosses in a little musical humor with the peppy, horn-driven, New Orleans-styled
"Brother Hawky Hawk."
It's
's first album of original tunes since 1998, and he's back stronger than ever. ~ Jonathan Widran