When I heard Jay Roberts, the son of the late Howard Roberts, had recorded a tribute to his father, I was eager to hear it. I wasn't disappointed. This isn't a CD you'll play once and then put away. It swings, has a groove that's in the pocket. You'll find yourself going back to it. If you ever liked Howard Robert's playing, listening to this live in studio recording will give you a warm feeling, and bring an affectionate smile. Although you hear "Howard" throughout the fusion-influenced but mostly straight ahead playing, Jay shows he's more than just his father's son. Jay's smooth, excellent playing delivers lots of great comping, and imaginative single-note technical facility here that is just good music.
The four-piece guitar, organ, bass, drum sound employed by his father on most of his recordings is featured. It has the feel of his father's music, updated. Musicians include Joey DeFrancesco, Brendan Scanlan, Dan Dean, and Eric Ried. There are eleven tracks on the CD: Two Howard Roberts originals TURISTA, and X.O., two originals by Jay Roberts, BLUE IN GREEN by Miles Davis, RELAXING @ CAMIRILLO by Charlie Parker, ANGEL EYES, and four other tunes round out this very satisfying CD. I look forward to more releases by this talented player.
reviewed by Rowland Harris, Rowlandph@cs.com