John Coltrane is supposed to have said, "If we could all play like Stan Getz, we would." Well, Jay Thomas is one who knows the Getz style, capturing (but not copying) the inimitable tenor tone that gave Getz's playing on-the-spot recognition. Thomas goes several steps beyond Getz, as he is equally at home with flute, soprano sax, flügelhorn, and trumpet. He is one of the few who is adept on instruments with very different mouthpieces and requiring very different embouchures.
Thomas brings all these powerful virtues to Song for Rita, his fifth session as a leader, here focusing on the intricacies of Latin sounds and rhythms. For a real treat, there are three relatively obscure tunes by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The entire affair is enhanced and enlivened by Thomas' wife Becca Duran, who is attractive both as a vocalist and as composer of two of the most beguiling tunes on the set, "Song for Rita" and "Au Contraire." The former immediately brings to the ear aural images of Getz and his bossa nova collaborations with Astrud Gilberto. On the latter, Thomas noodles delicately and unobtrusively under Duran's lilting vocal, helped by good guitar by Chas Davidson. Although Thomas spends most of his time on tenor, he unpacks the hard-to-negotiate soprano for engaging rhapsodizing on "Veneet's Blues." His flute helps to impart the eerie environment and sounds of the jungle on "Amazonas," while a mellow flügelhorn comes out on the samba "Wu Wei." This tune also offers opportunities for some inventive percussion work by Mark Iverster. The one standard, "I'm Glad There Is You," is here as a reminder that the artistry of the husband and wife duo extends beyond Brazilian, as Duran puts a shiny, sensuous veneer on this classic torch song, aided and abetted by Norman Durkee's keyboards.
Thomas and Duran alternate between two rhythm sections with guitar and keyboard; Miguel Garrido's bass is the only constant appearing on all tracks. The shift in personnel in no way detracts from the quality or vigor of the performances. The music was recorded in 1993 and 1996 but is just now being released. It's about time -- this is another fine effort by Seattle's Jay Thomas and is highly recommended.
© Dave Nathan /TiVo