1. Easy Way Out
2. Ode to the Working Man
3. Sweet Tea
4. No Where To Go
5. Professor Pork Phat
6. Walk into the Light
7. Way Out East
8. Dance of the Leprechaun
9. How The West Was Won
10. Kinda Green
11. Slippery Bigs Forever
Bill Evans Saxes, vocals
Sam Bush Mandolin, vocals (tracks 1-5, 7-9,
11)
Victor Wooten Bass, vocals (tracks 1, 2,
4-9)
Dennis Chambers Drums (tracks 1, 2, 4-9)
Ryan Cavanaugh Banjo (tracks 1-6, 10, 11)
Christian Howes Fiddle (tracks 1-10)
Pat Bergeson Guitar (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6)
Mickey Raphael Harmonica (tracks 1, 4, 5)
Clifford Carter Keyboards (tracks 1-4)
Roger Squitero Percussion (tracks 1, 2,
4, 10)
Vaneese Thomas Background vocals (tracks
1, 2, 4)
Richard Bona Bass (tracks 3, 10)
Joel Rosenblatt Drums (tracks 3, 10, 11)
Bela Fleck Banjo (tracks 7-10)
Jim Beard Piano (track 7)
Randy Brecker Trumpet (track 10)
Saxophonist Bill Evans's
Soulgrass album last year was a pleasant
surprise, intriguingly mixing elements of
country music into jazz. This new album does
the same thing but the proportion of the country
element has increased considerably. Some tracks
sound just like country songs with hints of
saxophone, and Bill even sings on several
tracks. He's a passable singer but nothing
special in the vocal department, and the lyrics
are not always clearly enunciated.
On the plus side, there's
plenty of fine playing from a line-up of excellent
musicians notably banjo-players Ryan Cavanaugh
and Bela Fleck (the latter outstanding on
Dance of the Leprechaun). And Bill
Evans himself contributes some fiery solos,
taking the lion's share of the soloing. Sweet
Tea is elevated by a thrilling bass guitar
solo from Richard Bona, and Dennis Chambers's
drumming adds characteristic punch to many
numbers.
There's no denying the excitement
of some of the instrumental tracks - like
the tearaway Professor Pork Phat, with
extrovert solos from Bill Evans and guitarist
Pat Bergerson. You might call this music jazz-fusion,
especially as it includes elements of rock
technoflash as well as country and jazz. It
is good to hear experiments fusing jazz with
other genres, but the fusion of jazz and country
was better managed by Gary Burton in his Tennessee
Firebird album 40 years ago, where the
jazz content was not dominated by the country
component.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Intuition INT 3416 2
