Some music critics have complained that there are too many tribute albums in the jazz world. But truth be told, there is nothing wrong with tribute albums as long as the person paying tribute takes some chances and doesn't allow his/her individuality to become obscured. Whether the focus of the tribute is
Clifford Brown
,
the Doors
June Christy
Stephen Sondheim
, or
Ivan Lins
, the more interesting jazz tribute albums are the individualistic ones. Italian keyboardist
Beppe Crovella
, thankfully, gets that, which is why
What's Rattlin' on the Moon?: A Personal Vision of the Music of Mike Ratledge
is as intriguing as it is. That title is an accurate description of this 76-minute fusion CD because
Crovella
's tribute to British keyboardist/composer
Mike Ratledge
(who is known for, among other things, his contributions to
Soft Machine
) does, in fact, sound personal.
's admiration for
Ratledge
comes through, but that doesn't mean that he tries to sound exactly like him.
, rather, salutes
on his own terms, and
What's Rattlin' on the Moon?
never becomes boring. The fact that
(who is unaccompanied and plays a variety of electric keyboards) plays the same instrument as
could have been problematic, but
is careful to avoid emulating his idol.
takes chances; this 2010 release is about admiration and respect, but it isn't it about emulation. And even though jazz purists and bop snobs would argue that
's jazz-rock is really just instrumental rock, the fact that he is operating in the electric realm doesn't mean that he isn't jazz-minded. Being rock-influenced doesn't prevent
from maintaining an improvisatory jazz mentality throughout his memorable homage to
. ~ Alex Henderson