Bobby Lewis: Instant Groove

Bobby Lewis' recurring theme in speaking about the music here is of the "instant groove. Lewis is right in drawing attention to the idea, for that groove is not a myth. To bring it home all the more conclusively, Lewis uses various lineups and gives these compositions their due, all of which makes for a recording that is entertaining on several levels.

The ripple effects of a heady tune are felt as the guitar and horns greet "Morning, which the arrangement opens to the band. Pat Mallinger has the first dig at the Latin groove, which he excavates with deep, earthy tones that change furrow and direction constantly. Jim Ryan brings in a lighter angle and a softer blush of color on the piano; Lewis extends the skein with a gorgeous and deeper hue, before Curtis Robinson snaps in on the guitar, going off onto blues avenue and making incisive statements with nods to the melody.

They waltz in on "Together We'll Stay, the melody immediate, the playing crackling with soothing warmth. Lewis uses the tonality of the flugelhorn to stoke the flame. He says that the melodic syncopations on Jelly Roll Morton's "Grandpa's Spells may not be exactly as Morton had notated, but the tune sizzles just as well. Lewis leads the march on cornet and alto trumpet, shadowed by Mallinger and counterpointed by Dan Perantoni on the tuba.