Kent Miller - Contributions (2016)

The team of Kent Miller/b, Benny Russell/ts, Darius Scott/p and Greg Holloway/dr make it sound easy; it’s not. Only by being a vet of jazz can jazz swing this smoothly without sounding “smooth.” The rhythm team lays down hip grooves from Russell’s breathy tenor on “West End Carnival” and the team is silky soft for the reedmeister on the suave “Per’igee.” Drums and horns go back and forth like a singles match on the brilliant and bluesy “Miss Lillie” and Holloway’s brush work does a Fred Astaire soft shoe on the nimble “One for Two Blues.” Scott’s nimble fingers dally on the ivories on the lite latin “Reminiscence” and snaps with the best on “G’s Bop.” These guys make feelin’ good feel good.~ by George W. Harris