Featured Artist: George Petit

CD Title: End Of August

Year: 2009

Record Label: Mar Creation, Inc.

Style: Contemporary Jazz

Musicians:

George Petit (guitar), Mark Dodge (drums), Justin Flynn (horns and flute), Steve Hass (drums), Thomson Kneeland (acoustic bass), Whitney Ashe (Rhodes), Artur Dutra (percussion)

Review:

End Of August is the close of one cycle and the start of a new one for guitarist-singer-songwriter George Walker Petit who express in the liner notes of the album, “These ends of the Augusts of ‘05 and ‘06 signaled both an end and a new start for me. This music mourns that end and celebrates that start.” Petit accomplishes this task by creating arrangements that feel intimate for the audience, as if the music was expressly designed for their listening pleasure. End Of August is Petit’s second solo jazz album as a leader and moves with a suave gait from track to track adhering to a smooth jazz etiquette and a textural palate that radiates like moonbeams over the ocean waves.

Petit indulges his fancy for wistful bossa nova melodies like “Montreux” and “Bijou” and the samba-ridged grooves of “Only Trust Your Heart.” It’s an album that creates a little corner of this world just for the listener where nothing is more important than relaxing and inhaling and exhaling at one’s leisurely pace. Even the more charming nightclub aura and bouncy rhythms of “Aldo” creates an intimacy with the listener that is binding. Listeners are also treated to Petit singing on his cover of Gershwin’s standard, “S’Wonderful,” which complement the silky inflections of the guitar chords. Joining Petit on the recording are percussionist Artur Dutra, drummers Mark Dodge and Steve Hass, keyboardist Whitney Ashe, bassist Thomson Kneeland, and horn player Justin Flynn whose softly puffing verses resonate through “Off Center” like a summer breeze grazing over a tuft of pansies tickling their dainty petals affectionately.

The simplicity of Petit’s arrangements allow the listener to appreciate every individual note, and feel engulfed in the experience of pure serenity as Petit strings these notes and moves them in ways that touches the senses affectionately. His writing mixes hints of Latin styles with elements of classic and contemporary jazz, and crafts completely mood-oriented tunes for the individual.

Tracks:

Only Trust Your Heart, Off Center, Stockbridge (Lost), S’Wonderful, Half Of What You Need, Bijou, Montreux, On Any Given Night, Aldo (Forza Italia)

Record Label Website: http://www.marcreation.net

Artist's Website: http://www.petitjazz.com

Reviewed by: Susan Frances

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