CD Review – Dan Barnett – “Walkin’ Shoes”
reviewed by Clinton White
The first thing you notice about Dan Barnett's latest jazz album
"Walkin' Shoes", when you press "play", is the truth and
authenticity of the sound. Every
instrument and voice is so honest and the balance of soloists with ensemble so
nuanced that it's as though they're right there in your listening room playing
just to you. It's so friendly, real and
natural, it's like having your very own private live gig.
Barnett and 13 mates make up the big band on the album and
they’re joined on some tracks by special guest vocalist Tricia Evy or vibesman
Kelly Ottaway. And when Evy’s not
singing, it’s Barnett’s own solid baritone voice that takes to the mic.
Even though most of the tunes in the set are the work of the
usual big names of jazz, like Ellington, Mulligan or Gillespie, nearly all of
them are arranged by members of the band, with a special mention of Ottaway,
whose name as arranger is next to five of the 12 offerings. One track, “Good Times Bad Times”, getting an
Ottaway arrangement of its own, is written by Barnett, in collab with guitarist
Shane Cranney, of Moods Band fame.
In some ways, this album’s name is a misnomer, for the music
swings along very nicely indeed, even through the ballads. One feels the urge to don the dancing shoes,
take a partner and swing and sway around the living room floor, right there in
front of the band.
Programming is nice, keeping the listener’s attention all
the way through with changes in mood, but always moving along with a driving
rhythm or a gentle swing. There’s some
nice Latin salsa (“Tin Tin Deo”), sultry singing (Evy in “All Too Soon”, along
with some sensual wah-wah muted trom from Barnett), and something of a
departure from the big band sound to a lounge sound in “Good Times Bad Times”. The closing number, “They Can’t Take That
Away from Me”, is a very classy duet between the two vocalists with the band
swinging along superbly in the back.
Whether it’s a vocalist or a solo instrumentalist, this
recording gives them exactly the right balance with the rest of the band, which
never dominates the soloists but leaves the listener in no doubt that it’s
there.
From beginning to end, Dan Barnett’s “Walkin’ Shoes” is a
very enjoyable album, packaged up in a very attractive, non-plastic, cover and
with minimal liner notes. Actually,
liner notes really are not needed at all; the first-class music makes the album
stand alone. The listener will be so
captivated, they will want to put the cover down and just listen … or dance.
