Jared Pauley: On Capitol Street

Hailing from Charleston, West Virginia, but now resident in NYC, Jared Pauley's first musical experiments were with the guitar but he abandoned this in favor of piano as a teenager. His influences include Herbie Hancock, George Duke and Chick Corea and his first purchased albums were Miles Davis' Milestones (Columbia, 1958), Herbie Hancock's Headhunters (Columbia, 1973) and Tito Puente's Éxitos Eternos (Universal, 2004). Certainly the Corea and Puente influences are prevalent on this follow-up to his debut recording Systematic (Circle Road, 2016).

On Capitol Street opens with a very Return to Forever-esque "Slush" with a key member of his band, saxophonist Adam Hutcheson taking the first solo on alto. Other members of the record's nucleus include Cengiz Baysal on drums and Elizabeth Pupo-Walker on percussion. Tamuz Nissim makes the first of two appearances on "Questions" where her airy vocals positively complement this breezy number. "Piphi's Pellets" benefits from the addition of guests Duane Eubanks on trumpet and Headhunters alumnus Mike Clark on drums. They also appear on the album's closer, "I'll Sing You This Melody," but with Eubanks on flugel and more skilful vocals from Nissim who handles the serpentine melody with aplomb. Guest tenor saxophonist Ben Bryden takes the lead on "Jetson's Tune" underpinned by some deft bass guitar from Joel Masinter. On the Latin-flavoured title track, Hutcheson contributes fluid soprano and there's a convincing solo from Evan Hammond on all-too-rarely-heard 12 string acoustic guitar.

The conga-rich "Carry My Weight" positively bursts with a South American flavour facilitating an autonomic foot-tapping response from the listener and likewise "Something In The Air" has an insouciant feel courtesy of Hutcheson's lithe flute, that's on a par with the late Joe Farrell. All the while throughout the album, Pauley holds his wholly appealing album together expertly utilising a variety of instruments including bass guitar on three tracks. Capital music from Capitol Street.