The 25th Street Band serves up a mix of melodic jazz fusion that ranges from lyrical smooth jazz, to sizzling jazz funk. It's unusual for a British band to release a West Coast Jazz album, and very rare to find top international players appearing on an independent release, but the most unique aspect of the 25th Street Band's album, "The key of H" is this... throughout the entire recording and production, the rhythm section never got within seven thousand miles of the rest of the band. But then - this isn't your average rhythm section... On drums and bass are two of the world's top session players. Guesting from LA is drummer Tom Brechtlein (Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Robben Ford), and bassist Hussain Jiffry (Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick). Their sessions were recorded in the USA, and they appear on three tracks as a result of using the latest digital recording technology and collaborating via the internet. From the UK... saxmen Mornington Lockett (Jimmy Smith, Ronnie Scott) and David Bitelli (Airto Moreira, Jimmy Witherspoon, Robert Cray, Dudu Pukwana) play prominent roles. The spotlight also falls on the young trumpet player Henry Armburg Jennings, who at only eighteen years has already shared the stage with such eminent players as saxophonist Pete King and Oscar Peterson's sideman, Martin Drew. South America is represented by the Latin singer Jandira Silva. Known throughout Brazil, from her role fronting the Jose Cabaleira Band on national TV, she performs the ballad Vem Dançar. At the heart of the 25th Street Band are Russ Klinger and Dave Radnor. They're the writers, the arrangers and the producers. They play keyboards and guitars and instrument programming. Many reviewers have already commented that The Key Of H sounds big... but then, with a stage that stretches from London to LA that's hardly surprising.
JazzReview.com
