Now that’s what one can call an interesting turn. Larry Epstein, whose musicality surely runs in the family with his father and grandfather being bassists too, is Acting Principal Bassist of the San Francisco Symphony and had previously played with the orchestra of Miami, Milwaukee and Strasbourg (France). To be honest I wouldn’t have assumed that a musician earning his daily bread with playing classical music in an orchestra would release such a relaxed and very good straight ahead jazz album. Me and my prejudices!
Larry teamed up with excellent musicians to support him on myTunes: Mathhew Clark (piano), Erik Jekabson (trumpet), Eddie Marshall (drums), John Santos (percussion) [some of you may remember John from his album Mambo Jazz recorded with Bobby Matos - the one with I Don’t Speak Spanish (But I Understand Everything When I’m Dancing) on it], and Harvey Wainapel (saxes).
Larry says about his debut album, “This music is easy to listen to to, but, is NOT ‘easy listening’ music. The presentation is straighforward; the appeal is simple and direct.” And he’s right. It’s music you can listen to without getting irritated by odd solos but it still has enough depth if you take your time and listen closely to his music. All songs are original compostitions and with most songs being mid- or downtempo they are perfect for the Blue Hour, the period between sunset and dark.
The driving Rat Race makes a good herald when you still feel the energy of a sunny and bright day but know that dusk will soon be with you. Then there’s the mellow latin inspired Passeggiata or the slow, wishfully yearning ballad Oh, What Could Have Been which features Larry on electric upright bass. It’s About Time further explores the melancholy theme with its slow groove. Blue Waltz features a bowed bass for a change while A Change Of Mood is a pleasant midtempo song. The introspective From Then Till Now (again with bowed bass) closes this excellent album. If only it would’ve been a longer than the fourtyfive minutes. But then, a Blue Hour isn’t often really an hour except maybe in mid-summer…so like I said perfect for this special time of day (and every other time as well for quality music fans.)

Tracklisting of myTunes!: 1. Rat Race/ 2. Passeggiata/ 3. Oh, What Could Have Been/ 4. It’s About Time/ 5. Blue Waltz/ 6. A Change Of Mood/ 7. From Then Till Now | released 2005 Tonality Records

For more infos visit cdbaby.com and sfsymphony.org.

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