JAM Dec/JAN 2013 - Download now - Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors

“Lucky” is not the only personal writing from DeMasters. “Sarita” is a
pretty bossa nova for his wife, with a nice chorus from Tim Whitmer. “Just
Because” was co-written with his wife, and is a poppy vocal that would fit in
with early Beatles tunes. Hahn is also here, as he is on the original instrumental
“Swimming Hole” and their cover of “You Don’t Know Me,” a DeMasters/
Hahn duo that shows Hahn embellishing the melody and some classic Hahn
bent notes.
Edwards and DeMasters share the vocals on the Little Anthony and the
Imperials and Lettermen hit “Going Out of My Head,” a tune that has been
covered by everyone from Wes to Hank Mobley to Sinatra. They are true to
the tune, and it was a favorite of mine. “Sonny’s the Man” is for Sonny Kenner,
and is a straight-ahead jazz track with solos from Whitmer, Tom (nice
octave work), and bassist Rick Huyett. The closer “New Years Day” is another
straight-ahead instrumental groove co-written with pianist Wayne Hawkins,
who has a solid solo.
“Christmas-Procrastination Blues” is a riot, a funky blues with a
“Superstition”-like opening about an inept gift shopper who thinks he has to
do better than the vacuum cleaner, weight loss and gym memberships, and gift
cards from the past. Lori Tucker plays the wife here.
This is a fun outing from Tom DeMasters, with great support from his
friends putting the breadth of his music on display.
—Roger Atkinson
Rick Smith
Last Call
Little Apple Records
Personnel: Rick Smith, guitar; Bobby Scharmann, bass; Austin Barnes, drums.
Tracks: Um Marongo, Bourbon and Coke, Ray and the Recalcitrant Redhead, Cherry
Pizza and Pepperoni Cheesecake, Coco & Bella, Nao Obrigado, Blues for G.
Recorded March 19-20 at Crystal Clear Audio & Video, Manhattan, Kansas. Recorded,
Mixed, and Mastered by David Brown for Brown Bear Sound.
Rick Smith was one of Wayne Goins’ students
at Kansas State, and makes his recording debut
on Wayne’s Little Apple label. This collection is
all Smith originals, written over time to give him
“a break from just playing standards all the time,”
as he says in his liner notes. The tunes are nicely
“stretched-out” to live performance length, and
are interesting enough harmonically to support
improvisation. Rick states in his liners that Wayne
and Grant Green are his favorites, and you can hear
the influence in his single note and chording style.
There are two bossa novas here. The opener, which translates to
“Strawberry,” has changes that don’t go where you expect. Smith shows his
single-note style, very melodic, and finds a place for a “Suicide Is Painless”
quote. There’s a nice bass solo from Bobby Scharmann and good brushwork
from Austin Barnes, although I would rather not have the drums so strong in the
mix. “Nao Obrigado” means “no thank you,” and has that underlying sadness
that exists in Jobim-influenced music. Smith states that there is reference to
Lady Gaga’s “Telephone;” I’ll take his word.
continued on page 28
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DECEMBER 2012 + JANUARY 2013 JAM 23