Chad Lawson Trio: Dear Dorothy: The OZ Sessions (2002)

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

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Published: October 23, 2002

Chad Lawson Trio: Dear Dorothy: The OZ Sessions

Summit Records has evolved into one of the finer jazz record labels. They're proponents of worthy, yet at times lesser-known talent, while also recruiting more familiar names for a variety of projects. Here, the Chad Lawson (piano) Trio morph tunes from The Wizard of Oz into mainstream jazz arrangements. The musicians have designed a pleasant outing, marked by their rather good-natured approach to the material. In fact, recordings of this ilk could serve as a good basis for introducing jazz music to the uninformed. Either way, the musicians possess a light touch as they effortlessly glide through the OZ songbook, including two originals by the leader.

Track Listing: 1. Over the Rainbow - 5:47 2. Yellow Brick Road/See the Wizard - 5:54 3. If I Only Had a Brain - 4:42 4. Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead - 4:54 5. Munchkinland - 4:09 6. The Lollypop Guild - 4:13 7. Merry Ole Land of Oz - 3:32 8. King of the Forest - 4:22 9. Dear Dorothy (Lawson) - 4:31 10. The Jitterbug - 5:04 11. Are We There Yet? (Lawson) - 6:42 12. Optimistic Voices - 2:39

Personnel: Chad Lawson - Piano; Zack Page - Bass; Alfred Sergel - Drums.

Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream