Ten years of cooperation and sharing stages with Ray Charles leads to an accurate string sound, high fingering skills, the ability to navigate from blues, funk, fusion, contemporary jazz, R&B and many more currents. These features fit perfectly with guitarist and composer Kenny Carr’s work of art, Turn the Page.
Kenny Carr’s jazz-voice appears full of liveliness, rich in jazz tendencies soaked in smooth jazz. For Turn the Page, Carr has chosen saxophonist Donny McCaslin, bassist Tom Baldwin, drummer Frank Russo and organist John Dryden. The band scrutinizes through twelve Carr themes.
Turn the Page landscapes gently between many sound textures. They break it down on "Tee Time" and "Going House" where Kenny Carr and John Dryden deploy a great playing versatility. On "Bleecker Street" and "Ocean Avenue Groove" there is a boosting dialogue between strings and drums with joyful interplay and technically dexterous delineation. The melody is acutely showcased on "Lost Tuesday" in which the phrases run smoothly.
Drums and bass interaction is very noticeable. On "Soho Strut" saxophonist Donny McCaslin hints, murmurs, pops, and whispers his essential reed-attacks.
Kenny Carr’s input is full of block chords and melodic changes. Turn the Page is played in a flexible fashion which demonstrates the quintet’s great interplay.
Turn the Page is a soulful jazzy creation to check out.
