RON CARTER — Empire Jazz (review)

RON CARTER — Empire Jazz album cover Album · 1980 · Pop/Art Song/Folk Buy this album from MMA partners
2/5 ·
snobb
It's difficult to imagine what inspired Ron Carter to use John Williams' Star Wars compositions as material for his album. Possibly, combination of well-known tunes with some great jazz/fusion names on recordings sounded as commercially attractive project,who knows.

The result isn't as good as it was possibly expected.Musical material is really more pop-related,even if some moments of jazzy versions could be accepted as slightly interesting. Musicians collaborated are mostly great (including Billy Cobham on drums,Bob James on piano and Crusaders flautist Hubert Laws, who really is star of this recording), but the music played is only very average at its best.

Carter's bass line isn't impressive,but at least are competent (nothing sounds different from his other works of that time though). Cobham's drumming is light and enough jazzy, but again as almost every of participated musicians he sounds there more as studio session musician,paid by hours. In fact, all album's problem is team of really good musicians recorded uninspired market-oriented project and every listener can easily hear it.

Album for Star Wars' fans and Carter's collectors mostly.
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