The title of
Jay Geils' solo debut is
Jay Geils Plays Jazz!, but for many listeners that exclamation mark should be substituted with a question mark, since
Geils has long been associated with the raw, greasy, house-party blues-rock of
the J. Geils Band, which seems a million miles away from jazz. Thing is, for as down and dirty as
the JGB got, they were always exceptional musicians, something that was proven in
Geils' '90s blues band with
Magic Dick, Bluestime. That latter outfit gave
Geils room to grow as a guitarist, as did his other project,
the New Guitar Summit, and the full extent of his transformation to jazz guitarist is shown on
Jay Geils Plays Jazz! This is firmly grounded in '50s bop, favoring the laid-back nature of cool but the chops of hard bop, and it dabbles in big bands, blues, and swing, including Western swing in the form a nifty version of
Bob Wills' "I Hear You Talkin' to Me." While there are no great surprises here,
Geils has supple support from pianist/organist
Al Wilson, bassist John Turner, and drummer Gordon Grottenthaler, plus some nice spotlights from saxophonists
Scott Hamilton,
Greg Piccolo, and
Crispin Cioe.
Geils himself is tasteful and engaging throughout, making this album a thoroughly enjoyable first foray into jazz for the guitarist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine