amiliar to Rock fans; he led the J. Geils Band that sold millions in the 80's. The 90's found him returning to his Blues roots with a series of Bluestime albums. Recently he has focused his attention in pursuit of a lifetime love affair with Jazz guitar. It started with New Guitar Summit--a collaboration with Gerry Beaudoin and Duke Robillard--and now Jay Geils is favoring us with his first ever solo Jazz release. Plays Jazz proves that heart,
soul, and talent is an unbeatable combination, as JG revisits the standards that formed the underpinning to his earliest musical awakenings.
No surprise that the leadoff track, Wholly Cats, salutes the pioneering talents of
Charlie Christian. Holy Cow! A few even pay tribute to the colorful strains of
Western Swing: Bob Wills' I Hear You Talking To Me, and a Wills' version of Benny
Goodman's Mission To Moscow. Even Blues Walk--an old Clifford Brown tune-features
the classy pedal steel guitar of Frankie Blandino. The band just winged it on this
one, and as is often the case, it made for a classic end-of-the-session triumph.
My jazz knowledge is probably best characterized as a lack thereof, so Geils'
enlightening liner note synopses proved invaluable. Background was provided, not
merely into the reasons behind each of the twelve selections, but also into
understanding how they were adapted and re-arranged to fit Jay Geils' specific
musical sensibilities and approaches. As an example, he chose to keep things very
basic--just a 4-piece combo of keyboards, guitar, and rhythm section--on a reading
of Peggy Lee's version of I Hear You Talkin' To Me, as well as on Duke Ellington's
Solitude; figuring the delicate melodies should be allowed to just speak for
themselves. Words that bear repeating!
Further evidence of JG's incisive instincts was his choice of Coleman Hawkin's It's The Talk Of The Town as the perfect tune to bump into at some groovy little joint in the wee wee hours. Featuring the esteemed
Scott Hamilton on tenor sax, this is a classic Jazz ballad that's best appreciated
while sipping on a gin and tonic. Set 'em up Joe!
A couple of Bill Dogget's extra-Bluesy sides are welcoming additions: Honey Boy and Hot Ginger. They also
afforded Jay Geils the opportunity to pay heartfelt homage to Billy Butler--the
quintessentially tasty picker behind Doggett. L.B. Blues is a selection that belongs
within the Jazz domain, but Jay Geils superbly conveys the cool Blues sound that
kept things ultra-interesting in the late 50's and early 60's. The interplay between
Jay's guitar and Greg Piccolo's tenor sax on Roland Kirk's Funk Underneath is
sublime, and Al Wilson's liquid tones on the those B-3 ivories put the proverbial
icing atop this scrumptious double-layered cake.
Jay Geils Plays Jazz reveals a player at the top of his game: a humble and fully engaged music scholar with an
intense appreciation of the past, especially those undeniable linkages that conjoin
Jazz and Blues. But the bottom line is that Jay Geils swings so very convincingly,
and he ensures that tradition is done proud.
amiliar to Rock fans; he led the J. Geils Band that sold millions in the 80's. The 90's found him returning to his Blues roots with a series of Bluestime albums. Recently he has focused his attention in pursuit of a lifetime love affair with Jazz guitar. It started with New Guitar Summit--a collaboration with Gerry Beaudoin and Duke Robillard--and now Jay Geils is favoring us with his first ever solo Jazz release. Plays Jazz proves that heart,
soul, and talent is an unbeatable combination, as JG revisits the standards that formed the underpinning to his earliest musical awakenings.