Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Thom Douvan: Brother Brother

5

Thom Douvan: Brother Brother

By

Sign in to view read count
Thom Douvan: Brother Brother
If it was going on sincerity alone it would be hard to knock Brother, Brother. Taken as a labor of love from guitarist Thom Douvan to the classic soul musicians collectively known as The Funk Brothers it sincerely tries hard, but unfortunately comes up short.

The immediate problem with any an album of cover songs are most remakes can't help but pale in comparison to the original, so if you're going go down the well-trod path of playing favorites, you had better bring something new to the party. Douvan falls short on this end as he produces and arranges a session without surprises.

"What's Going On" has been a ubiquitous hit since Marvin Gaye cut it 43 years ago. It has been covered by jazz artists as diverse as Quincy Jones, Herbie Mann, Donny Hathaway, Weather Report, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Chaka Khan who performed the tune with The Funk Brothers in the film, Standing In the Shadows of Motown. It's a great song, but it's been done to death. The Gaye discography is loaded with terrific tunes waiting to be rediscovered, but somebody else will have to do it because Douvan must have thought the world needed yet another version.

It would be nearly impossible for Douvan to improve on instantly recognizable classics like "That's the Way of the World" or "Isn't She Lovely?" so the next best thing would be to go all out and interpret them with a bold and fresh approach, but Douvan chooses to play straight down the middle with few twists, not many turns, and no curves. Where the songs should get sweaty, nasty and funky, it determinedly stays polite and well-mannered and unsatisfying.

Jazz without risk is only instrumental music and on that level Brother Brother is okay, but never goes beyond merely being "okay." The cliche is "familiarity breeds contempt." There's familiarity here, but Douvan needs more attempt.

Track Listing

Harvest For the World; That’s the Way of the World; For the Love of You; Anniversary; Ain’t Nobody; You’re Welcome, Stop On By; What’s Going On; Sara Smile; Isn’t She Lovely; So Amazing; With You I’m Born Again; What You Won’t Do For Love; The Water Is Wide; Someday We’ll All Be Free; If I Ain’t Got You

Personnel

Thom Douvan: guitar; Duncan McMillan: Hammond organ (1-13, 15); Tony Malfatti: saxophone; Ralph Penland: drums (1, 2, 4, 12, 13); Frank Wilson: drums (3, 5); James Gadson: drums (6, 7); Michael Barsimanto: drums (8, 11, 14); Tony Moore: drums (9, 10, 15); Bobby Pierce: Hammond organ (14)

Album information

Title: Brother Brother | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Self Produced

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.