After Midnight - Beginning to See the Light
Reviewed by Bryan Rodgers,
ReviewYou.com, March 2011
Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)
"The hot, swinging sounds of the 1930’s are alive and
well on After Midnight’s Beginning to See the Light. Drawing inspiration
from Benny Goodman (the undisputed “King of Swing”) and other greats like Duke
Ellington, Artie Shaw, Lionel Hampton, and Count Basie, clarinetist Roger
Campbell leads a unique, diverse ensemble through a litany of timeless tunes on
this album. It’s uncommon for an album of re-interpreted material to deliver as
much satisfaction and listening joy as Beginning to See the Light. The
band not only injects the material with a necessary dose of modern style, but
pushes itself beyond the boundaries of swing, tossing in elements of nearly
every jazz style imaginable. The members of the band combine into a practically
unheard of formation that emphasizes flexibility along with traditionalism.
Campbell is the driving force behind the band’s fresh interpretations, but like
the great jazz clarinetists before him, he never pushes ahead of the group with
his own interests. His style nicely blends the city-bred Goodman sound with the
Dixieland leanings of players like Pete Fountain, and the musicians aligned on
Beginning to See the Light have no trouble following along.
Every song features one perfect solo or sinfully sweet vocal passage after
another. Guitarist Mike McCullough threatens to steal the album at every turn,
offering a satisfying solo each time he’s given the chance. Organist and
pianist Justin Adams is equally adept at finding righteous Hammond-style grooves
and constructing elegant piano passages. Greg Harris’ vibraphone work is a
constant melodic presence, essential to achieving the band’s ultimate goal and
still inventive when featured in a solo. Harris gets after it with gusto. You
can hear him vocally exhorting along with his solos. Vocalist Rekha Ohal
possesses a charming, effortless coo that is part sexy, part studious, in that
inimitable female jazz singer fashion. The listener immediately knows that Ohal
not only knows how to sing, but knows her stuff when it comes to music, because
there’s no way she settled on such an appealing style without researching the
greats. Influences aside, her voice sounds a bit like Patricia Barber, a bit
like Norah Jones, and entirely at home on fare like “My Baby Just Cares for Me,”
a Walter Donaldson tune with Gus Kahn lyrics popularized by Nina Simone. The
folks down at Tin Pan Alley would have no doubt loved writing their jazzy pop
songs for a voice like Ohal’s. Of course, all of that plucking and singing and
blowing goes nowhere without a reliable rhythm section and Beginning to See
the Light features a quintessential jazz duo in that slot. Drummer Jim
Moore teams with bassist Ced Forsyth to provide a series of flawless rhythms
that will have the listener subconsciously tapping along with Moore’s hi-hat
while their brain dreamily follows Forsyth’s bold bass lines.
Their take on Goodman’s “Stompin at the Savoy” finds the full sextet in action
along with a quick clarinet, guitar, and bass breakdown. This kind of stylistic
metamorphosis can be found throughout the album. The latter-day Tin Pan Alley
gem “Comes Love” features a striding piano breakdown by Adams that bleeds into a
trio of bass, drums, and piano and back again before the rest of the crew
flawlessly rejoins the action. Adams and Campbell then work in tandem with
Harris on vibes to craft an irresistibly swinging finale. Not surprisingly, the
band finds the work of Duke Ellington right in their wheelhouse. “I’m Beginning
to See the Light” moves along with a confidence born of countless repetition,
and the jittery “Cottontail” brings the lengthy affair to a close, joyfully
ending the album’s generous 65-minute runtime. For lovers of swing who may be
jaded by listening to the same old recordings, Beginning to See the Light
could be a new favorite album."
