Greg Chako: Sudden Impact

Cincinnati-based guitarist Greg Chako spent many years in Asia, living and performing in various countries including Japan, China and Singapore. He produced several albums during his time abroad, assembling a discography that has not been readily available to American jazz fans. Sudden Impact, originally released in 1996, is the first of several re-releases on the Mint 400 Records label designed to expose Chako's music to a wider audience. Staying within the straight-ahead tradition, the album presents seven re-imagined versions of familiar standards plus four striking originals in a trio-based format.

Having secured a six-night a week gig in Singapore's upmarket Raffles Hotel in 1995 with his working trio of Singaporean drummer Tama Goh and Filipino-Singaporean bassist Billy Martinez, Chako went on to add guest musicians and this led to a studio recording with an augmented band the following year. The music begins with his self-penned title track and features Don Gomes on piano and Otrie B. Barrett Jr. on tenor sax. The Jimmy Van Heusen classic "Nancy (With A Laughing Face)" follows with a beautiful intro from Chako.

Other highpoints include the immortal "You Don't Know What Love Is," which is given a superb Latin-flavored reading. Chako's bluesy original "Fried Curry Pies" is inspired by Wes Montgomery''s "Fried Pies." "Jones' In" comes out of the gate in splashy fashion. Inspired by Jimmy Heath's "Big P," this one is a burner for sure.

The mellow spot of the album is Jules Styne's "People," where Chako plays it warm and gentle. This classic is followed by another, "I Remember You," where once again the leader is up front, playing cool and relentless. The album closes on two wonderful songs, the familiar "Morning" and then the less familiar "Gone with the Wind." They say that jazz is timeless and Sudden Impact is an excellent example of that truth.