Bob James - Take It From The top excellent - see pic

This sophmore follow up to the first Bob James Trio "Straight Up" is perhaps the best of the two. Here he paired with James Genus on Bass and Billy Kilson on Drums as opposed to "Straight Up" with Brian Blades on Drums and Christian McBride on Bass. Not to disparage the bass and drum musicians on these sessions. But to my mind Ron Carter on Bass and Steve Gadd on Drums would have made a world of difference.

Track Listing:

1 Billy Boy
2 Straighten Up and Fly Right
3 Downtown
4 Tenderly
5 Nardis
6 Poinciana
7 Caravan
8 Soul Eyes
9 Django

The Trio:

Bob James - Piano
James Genus - Bass
Billy Kilson - Drums

In doing jazz in a trio setting, there is little room for error and all must be on top of their game for this to work out. So all jazz trio sessions will ultimely be gauged to the mesmerizing work of Bill Evans and his trios. No one has done it better. What we have here is a pleasant excercise in the trio setting. I don't know if Bob James was trying for a Bill Evans effect or not. But this could have been in that vein. Don't get me wrong here. I like this album a lot and has a permanent place in my rotation as does his first effort. In fact I ernestly await the third jazz trio session if and when Bob James gets around to it. I think he needs to be paired with jazz musicians that will push his art in jazz trio to the next level. Both of these albums are very good indeed, but I am still looking for that magic touch that I know Bob James has in trio settings. Overall I highly recommend this album to anyone that embraces jazz in a trio setting.

This CD has been test played to ensure you get what you pay for. No surprises here. All come with jewel case, liner booklet and the CD disc itself.

Check out my other CD's and LP's on auction or classifieds in Audiogon. I combine shipping to lower costs. If you buy 5 or more CD's or LP's mix or match at asking price, I pay the shipping in the Continetal U.S.

Shipping is $2.75 via USPS 1st Class Mail in an approved USPS cardboard CD mailer.