Don Byron
Do the Boomerang: The Music of Junior Walker
Album - Jazz, Music, Contemporary Jazz
This time out Don Byron attacks the music of Motown sax player Junior Walker — not exactly Motown’s best-known artist, but a noted purveyor of fun, accessible R&B nonetheless. Byron takes a variety of approaches on these 12 tracks — 11 Walker staples plus one James Brown song for good measure (a pulsing, funky romp through “There It Is,” featuring trombonist Curtis Fowlkes). Byron sticks to tenor sax on 10 of the cuts, including a sultry reading of “Cleo’s Mood,” the organ-driven blues of “Mark Anthony Speaks,” a fairly straight-up version of the peppy dance classic “Shotgun,” and taut runs through “Pucker Up, Buttercup” (with Chris Thomas King on vocals) and “(I’m a) Roadrunner” (with singer Dean Bowman). Byron grabs his clarinet on the title track and switches to bass clarinet on “What Does It Take (To Win Your Love).” Not everything hits the mark, and David Gilmore’s Stratocaster guitar adds a rock edge that feels intrusive as often as it does incisive. Still, it’s hard to deny the joy and enthusiasm that Byron and crew display throughout.
Do the Boomerang: The Music of Junior Walker
Don Byron
This time out Don Byron attacks the music of Motown sax player Junior Walker — not exactly Motown’s best-known artist, but a noted purveyor of fun, accessible R&B nonetheless. Byron takes a variety of approaches on these 12 tracks — 11 Walker staples plus one James Brown song for good measure (a pulsing, funky romp through “There It Is,” featuring trombonist Curtis Fowlkes). Byron sticks to tenor sax on 10 of the cuts, including a sultry reading of “Cleo’s Mood,” the organ-driven blues of “Mark Anthony Speaks,” a fairly straight-up version of the peppy dance classic “Shotgun,” and taut runs through “Pucker Up, Buttercup” (with Chris Thomas King on vocals) and “(I’m a) Roadrunner” (with singer Dean Bowman). Byron grabs his clarinet on the title track and switches to bass clarinet on “What Does It Take (To Win Your Love).” Not everything hits the mark, and David Gilmore’s Stratocaster guitar adds a rock edge that feels intrusive as often as it does incisive. Still, it’s hard to deny the joy and enthusiasm that Byron and crew display throughout.
