Album Review: Beautiful Things from Kenny Shanker
Album: Beautiful Things Artist: Kenny Shanker Label: Wise Cat Records Website: kennyshanker.com Beautiful Things, Kenny Shanker's second release on Wise Cat Records, is an amalgam of jazz standards and original tunes penned by Shanker, each sharing the common denominator of being inspired by beauty and imprinting that quality in his music. A composer and alto-saxophonist by trade, Shanker fuses elements of bebop, straight-ahead jazz, and swing into the music. The laid-back rhythm of "Cool Mint" acts as a perch for Shanker's spirited flights on the saxophone, complimented by the twinkling notes of Mike Eckroth's keys and the gentle flares of Daisuke Abe's guitar. Shanker indulges in bouts of freestyle flails along “Prestissimo,” alternating with Bill Mobley's trumpet toots. The pair display an impressive repartee that wraps listeners around their whirling flourishes. It's like being swept up by a cushion of clouds, the way an amusement park ride...