The trio in question is Doug MacDonald (guitar), Larry Holloway (bass) and Tim Pleasant (drums) along with guest Big Black (djembe) who plays on six of the 11 instrumentals on offer. Apparently, the trio came together for a regular gig on Wednesday night’s at AJ’s On The Green, in Cathedral City, and found they worked well together, and this album is a result of that. Seven of the 11 numbers are standards, while the other four are MacDonald originals. This is incredibly laid back jazz, exactly the type of music I can imagine being played in the background of a bar, and while I can appreciate it I am sure I would appreciate it a lot more if there was alcohol and friends around. Listening to it in the rather sterile environment of my flat it feels almost clinical with little in the way of real emotion. That all three can play is never in doubt, but I’m just not feeling it.
Take “Stranger In Paradise” for example: to my ears it is too fast and there is just too much messing about with the original tune so that it becomes which is neither an interpretation or something new, but somewhere in between and sonically I just got confused. I am sure that if I was sat in the bar with a glass in my hand I would really be enjoying what the guys are doing, but listening to this CD is certainly not the same experience and something I am probably not going to repeat. I really don’t think the use of djembe on some songs adds to the experience either, but somewhat detracts, as it just doesn’t seem to fit in at all. Next.
Rating: 5/10
