Hopscotch

I dig it

     

This album is upbeat but old school Jazz. The majority of the tunes sound as if they could have been written in the 50’s or even earlier in some cases. It is decidedly happy and spirited. There is not a hint of pretentious introspection or a conveyance if intense angst or overwhelming seriousness. It is competently written and executed. Mr. Mintel’s Playing is reserved and straight forward. His solos are thoughtful and concise. Neil Wetzel’s playing is highly energetic and quite surprising for a relatively unknown sax player. He has a highly developed and mature sounding style which sounds much like a modern Cannonball Adderly. His solos are well executed with a harmonic sophistication that you don’t get to hear in many modern Alto players. I’m not sure what the person in the former review was speaking about with regard to him being sharp but it is my estimation that he is a musician of a very high order. Mr. Wetzel also performs very well on Flute and Clarinet. There a few very nice bass solos which are sometimes a little hard to hear and the drums are tasteful and on the money. This is a great album if you are looking for something in the classic jazz idiom that you haven’t heard before.