Karl Latham - Living Standards II (2025)

In 2016, drummer Carl Latham, to the great delight of those who loved rock before jazz, and today enjoy listening to both old rock and rock-infused jazz, conventionally called fusion music, released the album LivingStandards, where he presented his instrumental versions of eleven classic rock hits in jazz arrangement. He made this recording in the format of a trio with bassist Mark Eagan and the late guitarist Vic Uris. And now, nine years later, the Dropzone Jazz label presents the fifth album in Latham's discography, LivingStandardsII, in which he again turned to the fertile topic.

This time, Carl solved the task by moving from the trio format to a quintet. Mark Eagan, an experienced master who has worked a lot with Pat Metheny, Gil Evans and heads the Elements project as a co-founder, still plays bass in this lineup. The late Uris was replaced by Mitch Stein, who played for Tanya Maria, David Sanborn and the Brecker Brothers. Knowing the central role that the guitar usually plays in rock music, his position in the lineup was especially responsible. However, the same can be said about the keys, which were operated by the experienced Henry Kay, who worked with many stars of different genres: from Joe Locke to David Bowie. Latham's partner in the rhythm group was Roger Skittero, who played with Spyro Gyra, Ron Carter, Dave Grusin and many others. By the way, Karl himself collaborated with Attila Zoller, Paquito D'Rivera, Michal Urbaniak, Edgar and Johnny Winter, played in The Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars. The opening number of the program Latham made a version of the famous composition Doors Break On Through To The Other Side, which sounded very convincing and, I think, will not cause internal protest among fans of Morrison and his team. In this track, the famous German jazz vibraphonist Wolfgang Lackerschmidt became a guest of the recording. The composition of Stephen Stills Rock And Roll Woman, thundered by Buffalo Springfield, Latham and his partners turned into an exemplary number of fusion music, and the viscous electric blues of Led Zeppelin from their second album What Is And What Should Never Be is masterfully embodied close to the original with excellent work of Stein "in the role" of Jimmy Page. Latham made the version of the famous Layla by Eric Clapton somewhat unexpectedly more intense rhythmically with his own solo at the start of the composition, but tried to preserve the psychedelic beauty of Matte Kudasai from King Crimson in full. The final numbers of the program were versions of Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf and another composition by Stills, but this time with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Carry On in two parts. As you can see, the program is very impressive in terms of the set of names, and in terms of the fusion versions of Latham and his partners, it is no less worthy, which is worth seeing for fans of jazz rock.