Woody DeMarco: Woodrow's House Of Jazz (2002)

John Gilbert

Only those who have taken the voyage can discuss it

Recent articles (28 total)

Published: July 12, 2002

Woody DeMarco serves up good old fashioned be-bop with a distinctly personal touch. His ideas can be moody or joyful, and that makes for a very interesting mix. DeMarco is a solid jazz pianist, who swings delightfully. He was certainly the cynosure of the group. 'His worthy constituents' were Rex Harte on Drums and Bruce Eno, Bass. "It Could Happen To You"..Happy rendition with refulgent ideas by DeMarco. "Close Your Eyes"...Haunting changes, demonstrating the other side of DeMarco's musical personality. "I Thought About You"..This was a toe tapper done with style and elegance by the trio. "Blue Monk"..This tune opens with the Bass cleverly playing Monk's melody, then the Piano arrives on the scene, brilliantly catching the essence of the piece, but clearly expressing it in his own style. "Passion Flower" This tune pays thoughtful homage to Strayhorn in the beginning and then takes off like a rocket with DeMarco cooking on all 88 cylinders with his cohorts in joyful accompaniment. This is a fine mainstream jazz recording with DeMarco threatening to get edgy on occasion but not enough to upset matters, quite the contrary, it only makes this CD more interesting.

Track Listing: 'Beautiful Love', 'It Could Happen To You', 'Close Your Eyes', 'I Thought About You', 'Blue Monk', 'Old Folks', 'Passion Flower'

Personnel: Woody DeMarco, Piano, Rex Harte, Drums, Bruce Eno, Bass.

Record Label: Kalabazz
Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream