Although
Richie Hart has been around the East Coast jazz scene since the '70s and has a long list of sidemen credits, his output as a leader has been sporadic. Recorded in 2003,
Blues in the Alley is the guitarist's third album as a leader and his first since 1991's
Remembering Wes on Triloka.
Remembering Wes was, as its title indicates, a tribute to
Wes Montgomery -- and stylistically,
Blues in the Alley picks up where
Hart's second album left off.
Hart is still a very
Montgomery-influenced player (with a strong appreciation of early
George Benson as well), and he is still a hard bopper who knows his soul-jazz (which is why he has been employed as a sideman by
Jack McDuff,
Dr. Lonnie Smith,
Don Patterson and other famous organists).
Blues in the Alley isn't the least bit groundbreaking, but it's a decent effort that illustrates
Hart's strong sense of swing and blues feeling as well as his ability to show his vulnerable side on ballads. And to
Hart's credit,
Remembering Wes doesn't have the sort of all-warhorses-all-the-time policy that plagues so many hard bop dates.
Thelonious Monk's "Well, You Needn't" and
Johnny Mercer's "Autumn Leaves" certainly fall into the warhorse category, but
Hart also provides three tunes of his own and unearths some worthwhile songs that haven't been beaten to death, including
Lalo Schifrin's "The Fox" and
John Coltrane's "Black Pearls."
Hart concludes this 54-minute CD on an enjoyable note with a medley of
Stephen Sondheim/
Leonard Bernstein gems from West Side Story, which speaks well of the guitarist because many other jazzmen are scared to death of
Sondheim. This solid, if derivative, release makes one glad to see
Hart recording as a leader again. ~ Alex Henderson