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Reviews -
CD/Recording Reviews
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Written by Stephen Oberheu
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Tuesday, 15 December 2009 21:54 |
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 The Memphis Hang is a nice collection of tunes that (other than a couple of tuba overdubs in the studio) could be a live-off-the-floor recording from a smoky club somewhere on Beale Street (nevermind laws about smoking in bars these days....). Jim Shearer and Charlie Wood definitely bring the mood with them on this recording.
The combination of tuba and Hammond organ goes very nice together with the drums and bass. Tubist Shearer effortlessly switches between playing fluid bop lines and just holding down the groove in a more traditional tuba role.
The disc opens with a nice uptempo version of Well You Needn’t that features Jim Shearer doing some tricky triple-tonguing responses that play off of Charlie Wood’s straight-ahead vocals. The second track shifts gears to a dixieland style version of Seduced where Shearer lays it down for Wood’s husky tone. Mound Bayou is a great ballad that features some tasty harmonica playing from Billy Gibson. Can’t Take You Nowhere, though a sparse arrangement, grooves just as well without drums. Secret Love is a great instrumental with a fantastic Hammond organ solo in the middle. One of the more interesting tracks on the album is a very unique version of Mingus’s Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, which features some great, thick-layered tuba harmonies.
As the title of the album suggests, The Memphis Hang sounds exactly like a bunch of friends just playing tunes for the fun of it. This one goes down easy.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 16 December 2009 03:49 )
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