Reviewed by Tony Cummings

I grew up in a home where dad was a huge enthusiast of big band jazz - from the Swing Era derivatives of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman to the more authentic ensembles of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. I was soon educated in the delights of tight ensemble work, imaginative charts and hot solos and though I've long since moved on to musics new, I've never completely lost my appreciation in the big band sounds. So I approached this album with considerable interest. The All Souls Orchestra with those Prom Praise concerts had proven a great populariser of the classics. Could, I wondered, this ensemble do a similar thing for big band jazz? Maybe they can, though to my ears most of the stuff here had the tepid, tired quality of a Northern Dance Orchestra rather than a Count Basie. Guest vocalists like Paul Jones and LJ Frazier try and bring a little life to the proceedings but this album of big band renditions of hymns and gospel songs (LaVern Baker's "Saved" was a surprise) simply lacks fire.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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