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Peter Scherr: Son of August

By C. Michael Bailey
January 29, 2011
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Track review of "Willing"

Bassist Peter Sherr made a splash with his trio recording with Jazz Folk—Jazz in the Stone Age (Self Produced, 2010)—a strange collection of grunge covered jazz. Son of August pairs the bassist with his slide guitar playing brother, Tony Scherr, second guitarist Brad Shepik, and saxophonist Michael Blake, for a curious collection of progressive jazz and retro-proto-rhythm and blues. Among these latter musings is the powerful "Willing."

Scherr covers Canadian multi-instrumentalist Chris Brown's "Willin,'" featuring his brother playing slide guitar. This treatment recalls recent Stanton Moore performances like "He Stopped Loving Her Today," from Groove Alchemy (Telarc, 2010). Big, loud, chaotic, soulful, it is a sound that is as big as America and twice as proud. Guitarist Scherr speaks the language of the blues if it were translated to the Midwest. Blake's tenor saxophone sounds as dry as Paul Desmond's alto throughout the song. The arrangement is a study in blues dynamics, with diminuendi and crescendi ebbing and flowing throughout the eight- plus minutes piece; a tonal landscape.

Personnel

Peter Scherr

Michael Blake: saxophones; Mike Sarin: drums; Brad Shepik: guitars; Tony Scherr: guitars; Peter Scherr: bass.

Album information

Title: Son of August | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Self Produced

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