Ron Kaplan: Lounging Around

While Kaplan's rich voice fills the studio's sound room with full force and the session's balance remains well proportioned, the performance rests too comfortably on its walking stick. As if made just for the wee small hours of the morning, the program emphasizes its relaxed mood and undercurrents of shadow. While guitarist Larry Scala unveils several instances of vibrant blues emotion, the session keeps most of it under wraps.

As if to break the mold, trumpeter Dmitri Matheny and Scala work creative solos on "How Insensitive that wake up the room. A similar situation erupts on "Caravan, as Scala and saxophonist Donny McCaslin season the timeless standard with exotic spices.

Kaplan is based in Santa Cruz, California, where he's able to work with a wide array of jazz professionals from the San Francisco Bay Area. The area brings musicians together like family, and the music grows from their unity. The proof on Lounging Around hangs tight on the bootstraps of professionals like Larry Scala, Donny McCaslin and organist Steve Czarnecki. "Moanin', a soulful Bobby Timmons classic that's spanned generations, brings them together for one of the session's high points.

Kaplan brings a rich voice to the session; however, the mood remains, for the most part, aligned indelibly with a laid-back lounge setting.

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