07/29/09 • Albums • By Susan Frances
Jim Rotondi
Blues For Brother Ray
Trumpeter Jim Rotondi pays homage to his mentor Ray Charles on his latest CD, Blues For Brother Ray out on Post-Tone Records. Joining him on the recording are Eric Alexander on tenor saxophone, Peter Bernstein on guitar, Mike LeDonne on organ, and Joe Farnsworth on drums. Rotondi’s recording is like the Bentley among blues jazz recordings, his lines are classy and finely polished with instrument parts adjusted to allot for just the right amount of wiggle room to make the ride nicely cushioned. The cruising tempo of the movements puts sleek curves in the tracks making for a listening experience that lets the audience savor every slow, sipping slurp of their drink, and enjoy the hydrating droplets caress their throat.
Rotondi’s trumpet has an upright posture that keeps these tracks feeling cheerful as LeDonne’s soft piano moans work as the base for Rotondi’s fanciful flights. The tracks meld into each other as if they are a visceral part of one another. Blues For Brother Ray is an album that requires the listener to consume it as a whole. Rotondi’s interpretation of some of Ray Charles’ best material including “Georgia,” “Cry Me A River” and “Baby It’s Cold Outside” display posh detailing as instrument parts are smoothly intertwined and sutured into lacy furls and vibrant knittings. The blues jazz gilding is welcoming on the ears using an application that creates a continental sound familiar to the global collective.
Making Ray Charles’ songs universally likeable seems easy since they are naturally catchy, but Rotondi also upgrades the tracks to sound modern using rhythmic patterns which infuse blues jazz aureoles with a refreshing glint. It helps that Rotondi has appeared on some seventy CD’s in the past, in addition to being a bandleader which has provided him with the sensibilities to not only remake Charles’ music but also to understand where Charles was coming from and where he wanted his songs to take audiences. Rotondi makes all of this possible on Blues For Brother Ray.
