Jimbo Ross: So Do It

Jimbo Ross is a jazz musician who happens to play the violin, not a violinist who happens to play jazz. And yes, there is a difference. Actually, Ross plays a specially designed five-string electric viola/violin on So Do It, as he did on Jazz Passion and Latin Satin, his debut album for Bodacious Records in 2024, and has for the better part of his four-decades-plus career on studio dates, concerts and guest appearances with a veritable who's who of jazz and pop luminaries.

The starting lineup remains the same as on that earlier album, with Ross accompanied by guitarist Joe Gaeta, pianist Stuart Elster, bassist Peter Marshall and drummer Rob Wagner. It is a case wherein familiarity breeds kinship, as everyone expresses his singular point of view while remaining at Ross' beck and call throughout the colorful program of jazz and popular standards that embraces tunes by Wes Montgomery, Bill Evans, Lee Morgan, Sonny Rollins, Duke Ellington, Eddie Heywood, Eumir Deodato, Miles Davis and Sam Jones, complementing the standards "Speak Low," "Willow Weep for Me" and "The Way You Look Tonight."

Montgomery is represented twice, by the sinuous "Twisted Blues" and lyrically swinging "So Do It," Ellington by the seldom heard but no less delightful "Sherman Shuffle." Ann Ronell's "Willow Weep for Me" opens on an ethereal note before Ross and the ensemble settle into a comfortable 12/8 groove, while "Speak Low" and especially "The Way You Look Tonight" are played at faster than normal tempos, giving Ross and the group an even wider and longer runway from which to take flight.

Among the other jazz originals, Rollins' charming "Pent Up House" and Davis' seductive "Nardis" are perhaps best known, while Heywood's buoyant "Canadian Sunset" straddles the line between jazz and pop. Morgan's "The Gigolo," Evans' "Funkallero," Deodato's "On My Mind" and Jones' intensive "Unit 7," the session's definitive flag-waving hallmark—(although "The Way You Look Tonight" comes close)—complete the bright and engaging program.

Ross' mastery of the post-bop jazz lexicon is such that one can readily envision his expressive solos being played by a saxophonist or trumpeter. Gaeta and Elster are impactful soloists in their own right, while Marshall and Wagner make the most of their few chances to shine. Recorded sound is excellent, playing time generous and, best of all, the music itself is handsome and pleasurable. A sumptuous and seaworthy voyage from start to finish.

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