Insight & Critique
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

Tim Gill & the Tim Gill All-Stars - Small Batch Bourbon

6/30/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Tim Gill & the Tim Gill All-Stars

Small Batch Bourbon
self-released; 2015

3.9 out of 5

By Mike Przygoda

Small Batch Bourbon by Tim Gill & The Tim Gill All-Stars is an excellent album of jazz standards with clever Nelson Riddle-ish arrangements, Rat Pack-esque vocals, and some Richard Cheese camp.

Gill is an agile vocalist and arranger and the All-Stars give excellent performances in support of every song. The title track is a humorous barrelhouse blues with Gill moving between Dean Martin-ish vocals both sung and spoken. There’s an exceptional piano solo in the middle. It features the pianist contrapuntally playing the boogie-woogie bass line while tearing it up in the right hand. Then the band rejoins. 

“A Foggy Day” has some smart saxophone arrangements and humorous band vocals. “Unchain My Heart” keeps the Latin groove from the Ray Charles original but adds some surf organ and prominent tambourine.  There’s an excellent saxophone solo and some Maynard Ferguson-like high notes in the trumpet section.  There’s a surprise salsa breakdown at the end with some soulful trombone soloing.

“I’m Just A Lucky So-And-So” starts as a laid-back bluesy arrangement with a groovy piano bass line.  Halfway through the song builds and soars with stacked horns and an alto saxophone solo.  When the vocal comes back over triplet piano hits the song lives somewhere between the Rat Pack, Nat King Cole, and Ray Charles. “Benny’s Bugle” is a strong update of the Benny Goodman/Count Basie standard.  Various muted trumpets/bugles duel against each other, calling and responding over a tight hi-hat groove and Dixieland drum fills. “You & The Night & The Music” is a cha-cha that is supported by congas and cowbells keeping steady time over drum fills. The trumpet solo weaves its way through clusters of backing horns and quarter-note triplets from the drums steadily opening up in tone and volume before making the hand-off to a screaming saxophone solo. “Hey Good-Lookin’” is an up-tempo number that closes the album and features a lively organ solo.

Three of the songs feature delightful vocals from Adryon DeLeon.  “L-O-V-E” starts with some more competition for Ferguson high notes in the trumpet before DeLeon takes over as if she is playfully bouncing the song from hand to hand.  She also shines in “Comes Love” a tight bluesy number. “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” is a hammy exchange between Gill and DeLeon that is cute and funny with tight instrumental segues and a great final punch line.

The album moves between humor and sincerity in a clever way. “I Won’t Dance” starts with a Richard Cheese-like sketch between Gill and the band before the song begins. The vocal is smooth and the band swings. There’s also a smart joke with the introduction of the drum solo. “You Must’ve Been A Beautiful Baby” begins with another band call-and-response and could easily move into schmaltz, but the vocal and quirky horn soli opens up the melodic content of the song.  There’s another nice piano feature in the middle before some Louis Armstrong-like trumpet. The joke in “Pennies From Heaven” doesn’t quite work, but the band swings, the melody is good and there’s a strong trading off of solos before an excellent horn solo.

Two particularly interesting moments on the album come in “Sunny” and “Arthouse Façade.”  “Sunny” is an interesting update of the Bobby Hepp classic that opens with a bass feature and has some clever chromatic saxophone pads that descend and ascend behind the vocal. Though the arrangement doesn’t acknowledge the lyrical content, it does focus on the melody and is a smart instrumental arrangement.  “Arthouse Façade” has a clever lyric and a stilted but interesting delivery in the arrangement that tips its hat to Charles Ives.

Overall, the album is extremely well produced and performed.  The vocals, horns and rhythm section all deliver strong performances, the songs are well chosen and sequenced, and it’s a very fun, energetic, and smart accessible listening experience.
official website
Tweet
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by divideanconqer
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
Book Your Band
© Divide and Conquer 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact