kev rowland
Some albums should come with health warnings, and this is one of them. Sadly this appears to be lacking from the cover so I’ll provide one for you instead “WARNING: DO NOT, REPEAT, DO NOT PLAY THIS WHILE DRIVING!” The last time I came across an album like this was Leon Redbone’s ‘Sugar’, which featured “So, Relax”, and here bassist John Brown leads his quintet though a selection of jazz standards and newer songs with the aim of moving “people to stand still; to stop to find private space to experience quiet time both alone and with someone.” While he provides the solid bedrock himself, he has brought together veteran trumpeter/flugelhornist Ray Codrington and young alto/tenor saxophonist Brian Miller, along with pianist Gabe Evens and drummer Adonis Rose.
I did make the mistake of playing this in the car the first time, but I actually switched to another album after a few songs as I found that I really was starting to drift into a world that was surrounding me like a warm blanket, and that really isn’t desirable when driving! Now, playing this at night with a suitably sized Bombay gin & tonic and it was another matter altogether. In this environment it becomes an album that is sadly way too short at a tad under 75 minutes long, and I found myself either hitting the repeat or promising myself that I would play it again the next night as well. Originally released in 2012, it was repromoted at the beginning of 2014 and I am so glad that I came across this as it truly is a delight. www.brownboulevard.com