Tenor saxophonist
Joel Frahm and keyboardist
Bruce Katz pay instrumental tribute to the rhythm & blues tunes of pop icon
Aretha Franklin in a manner that is removed from stock arrangements or rote interpretations.
Frahm and
Katz tend to change things up a bit on the majority of these well-chosen selections, which bear only a minimal resemblance to the powerful songs of
Sister 'Re. That
Frahm's modernistic personal style is sublimated, or that
Katz doesn't groove hard and strong, is not the issue. What is at hand makes this group stand alone as a unit dedicated to this music of their youth, leaving karaoke or copycat charts to much less-talented musicians, as they bring a different heartfelt aesthetic to these proceedings. Electric guitarist
Chris Vitarello is a major factor adding new voicings, while
Franklin's electric bass guitarist
Jerry Jemmott makes his funky presence felt on five of these selections. The always exemplary and talented
Katz rotates on piano, Hammond B-3, and Wurlitzer, while a two-man horn section is added on three tracks. Of the obvious modifications, "Maybe I'm A Fool" is a sprightly waltz with
Katz on piano in more an N.Y.C. street style, while the famous "Rock Steady" is much lighter on its feet than the original, and does not necessarily "get down" with dual bass, drums, and electric pianos. Completely off the charts,
Vitarello's slide guitar à la
Duane Allman or
Derek Trucks moves in secular-to-New Orleans-shuffle modes during "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."
Frahm's influences cum
King Curtis via
Michael Brecker clearly come to the surface on the choogling shuffle "Love the One You're With," but the churchy organ of
Katz spurs a light or loping funk and some clockwork rhythms for "Spirit in the Dark" where the tenor saxophonist adopts a spiritual stance akin to
John Coltrane. A very slow, urban blues accented by
Vitarello and the horns identifies "It Ain't Fair," similar to the
Art Blakey/
Bobby Timmons evergreen "Moanin'," while back to New Orleans, the upbeat, funky pace of "Packing Up, Getting Ready to Go" might have been a better first number than the last selection. Unfortunately, the opener "The House That Jack Built" is the one track that really falls flat, a clearly simplified cover that belies the creative nature of these musicians. Overall this recording expresses a good time had by all, clearly a labor of love, and brings
Franklin's Detroit gospel to star power rhythm & blues music forward in a different light. While not likely to shake and quake booties or turn dance music into an intellectual thesis,
Frahm and
Katz achieve a balance somewhere in the middle that should be pleasing to many younger jazz and older non-jazz fans. ~ Michael G. Nastos