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

About Carol Robbins

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Andrew Hill: Coming Back Full Circle
< Previous

Reasons to be Thankful
Next >

Become a Sustaining Member

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.