Reuben Wilson is joined by guitarist Grant Green, Jr., tenor saxophonist Melvin Butler, and drummer Bernard Purdie for this no-frills set of soul-jazz and blues classics. (
Wilson, Purdie, and Green, Jr. worked together on Masters of Groove Meet Dr. No, also on the Jazzateria label.) The four begin with a minor-key tribute to Jack McDuff ("Blues for McDuff"). A bit later they nod to another great jazz organist, Jimmy Smith, with a strutting "Back at the Chicken Shack." Other highlights include "Willow Weep for Me," "After Hours," and "Honey Dripper." Music like this is all about feel, and these musicians have plenty of it. But the preponderance of shuffle blues, it must be said, gets a tad monotonous. Even the closing track, "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," a 16-bar tune with a fair amount of harmonic movement, somehow winds up as a straight 12-bar blues during the solos, making it sound too much like everything else. ~ David R. Adler