Lori Mechem is one of the active leaders of the Nashville Jazz Workshop, which is a jazz education program consisting of live performances and classes featuring local musicians and, occasionally, nationally known musicians.
Return to Ipanema is the pianist's salute to the music of
Antonio Carlos Jobim, with contributions by
Denis Solee (tenor and soprano saxes plus flute), guitarist
Pete Huttlinger, bassist
Roger Spencer, drummer
Chris Brown, and percussionist Dann Sherrill, playing the arrangements of
Jeff Steinberg. The performances are enjoyable background music, though they are a little too conservative as
Solee is the only musician who is improvising most of the time, while the strings provide more of a background feel. An example is "The Girl from Ipanema," where
Solee's tenor takes a few chances (though not nearly enough), while
Mechem sticks very close to the melody during her single chorus.
Mechem does loosen up in "One Note Samba" and
Solee's adventurous soprano seems to stimulate the leader a bit in the breezy "So Danco Samba." But because these compositions have been recorded so frequently in a jazz setting, they deserve to be played a little looser than many of them are on this session. ~ Ken Dryden