Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Carol Robbins: Jazz Play

Carol Robbins: Jazz Play

By Jerry D'Souza
February 27, 2006
View read count

The harp makes one of its rare appearances in jazz in the hands of Carol Robbins on Jazz Play. She also wrote several of the tunes on this recording and included some standards. And where does that place the music? Right in the mainstream, with some softer shades of what is known as contemporary jazz. The introduction of the latter causes no damage; the soothing waft it brings in is pleasant enough, without detracting from the core.

One of the tunes which gets this treatment is "The Meaning of the Blues. Robbins shades it in pastel colours, while guitariwst Larry Koonse adds to the ambit, picking notes that fall softly and gently, the whole lifted by a percussive bed. The mood is upbeat on "Buddy's Bite, with Steve Huffsteter chomping down on the tenor sax and etching a deep line. Koonse once more shows a sense of harmonics which gives a song a beckoning dynamic, with Robbins adding a lilting Latin melody. While this swings nicely, "Darcy's Waltz comes in on the one-two-three with Bob Sheppard on the tenor saxophone opening the melody delectably and laying the path for Robbins to add her own beguiling imagination, making this one of the better tunes on the set.

Jazz Play is just right for a relaxed evening.

Track Listing

Buddy's Bite; O Grande Amour; Still Light; The Meaning of the Blues; Darcy's Waltz; Tangier; Emilia; Don't Look Back; The Cribbler; Skating in Central Park; Sollevare; I'm Old Fashioned; Sambolero.

Personnel

Carol Robbins

harp

Carol Robbins: harp; Larry Koonse: guitar; Bob Shappard: soprano and tenor saxophones; Steve Hufstetter: trumpet and flugal horn; Derek Oles: bass; Tim Pleasant: drums.

Album information

Title: Jazz Play | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Jazzcats

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Andrew Hill: Coming Back Full Circle
< Previous

Reasons to be Thankful
Next >

Carol Robbins Concerts

Nov 12 Wed

Your Love

Catalina Jazz Club
Hollywood, CA

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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.