Joe Alterman & Mocean Worker: Keep The Line Open

The spirit of the late, great pianist Les McCann is revived and respected in Keep The Line Open from Mocean Worker (aka Adam Dorn) and Joe Alterman.

Bassist-producer Dorn and pianist-composer Alterman are uniquely placed to record a tribute to their mentor and friend McCann. Dorn's father Joel worked with McCann at Atlantic Records producing classics such as Swiss Movement, then Adam himself formed a relationship with McCann over long phone conversations, even playing with him on tour. Alterman had the opportunity to open for McCann at The Blue Note, and spoke regularly and at length with him on the phone.

Snippets of these conversations and other samples are woven throughout this nine track album, with improvisations from Alterman over beats produced by Dorn. If this sounds like a dull instrumental hip-hop album it most certainly is not. It is a live-sounding, feel-good treat, with McCann's wit and humour shining through. But also showcasing Dorn and Alterman's considerable virtuosity. So much so that you might think the tracks were all well played covers of McCann's music, but in fact only one is, the soul-jazz cooker "Burning Coal." "Moses Gonzalez" is a particular highlight, an up-tempo Latin-tinged number not too dissimilar to the club anthem "Rose Rouge" by St. Germain. "Gimme Some Skin" could also be dropped in a DJ set with its soul clap vibe. There are deeper tracks too, like the trance-inducing "Get This To The People," along with "Let Me Tell You Something," which evokes Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues."

Keep The Line Open is an album to celebrate McCann and his joyful music, and a testament to how modern production techniques can be combined with real musicianship. In the words of Dorn, "We wanted to make a record that harkened back to an era, and use the technology of the current era that says, 'Here's a party, and you can come to the party and not feel like you are being preached at...'" Ramsey Lewis, another clear influence here said to Alterman: "You owe it to them to entertain them; they're not here for a music class, they're here to have a good time." Right on!