Swing Time is a pleasant, if unspectacular, outing by a group of competent jazz veterans, all of whom have spent most of their jazz lives as sidemen, with only an occasional visit to the recording studio as leader. This is
Richards' third trip for the German company Jazz Point, representing a significant portion of his recorded output as leader. In addition to his pianistic contributions,
Richards sings on two cuts: "Once in a While" and "Them There Eyes." Again, pleasant interludes, but nothing out of the ordinary, as
Richards warbles in his old-fashioned style, reminiscent of one of
Jay McShann's soirees into vocalizing. Another veteran who gets a lot of work on the album is tenor sax man George Kelly, best known for his work with the Savoy Sultans -- first with Al Cooper's original group, then 40 years later when they were led by Panama Francis. Kelly's laid-back, lightly swinging sax prevails throughout this session, and is best summed up on "There Will Never Be Another You." The highlight of the session is the
Richards/Kelly collaboration on
Duke Ellington's "Black Butterfly," in which Kelly's tenor sounds a lot like
Benny Carter's alto. The outing ends with a musical cheer for
Richards, "Go Red," composed by Kelly Owens, who worked with
Big Maybelle and other jump blues artists. This album is a pleasing testimonial to the contributions of performers who have trod the lesser-lit lanes of jazz. ~ Dave Nathan