Influenced by
Clark Terry and endorsed by
Max Roach, trumpeter
McGaha utilizes a simplified approach to his improvisations, and delves into many basic aspects of American music, not the least of which are bop, blues, ballads, standards, spiritual, and soulful elements. He has employed a quartet of up-and-comers, including pianist Lori Meecham, bassist
Roger Spencer, and drummer
Chris Brown.
McGaha shines most brightly on ballads, and when he takes his time and builds solos, his patience pays off. Most alluring in this 13-song set list is "When I Fall in Love," or his original "Fruit of the Spirit." His soul-jazz inclinations are well served on the
Bobby Timmons classic "This Here," replete with a piano-drum kit workout. As far as swing, he lays down the horn and scat sings on "This Little Light of Mine." Meecham's spatial
McCoy Tyner-esque take on "In a Sentimental Mood" is quite reminiscent of
Tyner and
John Coltrane's modal classic "Wise One," while the New Orleans blues-funk number "Cookout," showcasing
McGaha's muted wah-wah outcries, has shadings of
Nat Adderley's "Work Song." A drunken, slow, bluesy title track, and the 12-bar "Joy Unspeakable," both again from
McGaha's pen, provides a deep root strata. The most inventive piece is the modified melody of a cut-and-pasted "Lover" that goes back and forth from
Kurt Weill-cum-
Carla Bley wacked, to hard bop smokin'. The final selection, "Is Your All on the Altar," with church organ from
Marc Harris, gives props to the one, a theme present throughout this recording.
McGaha's sound is in a period of maturation, and future refinements will likely produce a truly new and original voice on the most difficult of all jazz instruments. ~ Michael G. Nastos