Chip Shelton has long been a very talented and fluent flutist whose music straddles the boundary lines between straight-ahead jazz, soul-jazz and R&B.
Imbued with Memories differs from most of his previous recordings in that the music was recorded in the studio rather than live in concert; it puts the emphasis on
Shelton's regularly working group and, in addition to his playing on flute and piccolo,
Shelton is also occasionally heard on a pair of his antique instruments: a tenor and a soprano sax, both of which are pitched to the key of C (rather than B flat). Otherwise, the music is typical of a
Chip Shelton recording. It always grooves, even on "It Don't Mean a Thing." Among the more intriguing selections are a funky rendition of
Joe Henderson's "Recordame," an R&B-ish vocal tribute (with Jann Parker) to
Martin Luther King ("MLK"), and
Shelton's mournful C-tenor on "Tsunami After-Prayer." Guitarist
Lou Volpe takes honors among the supporting cast. Recommended to lovers of funky jazz. ~ Scott Yanow