Name: All About Melody
Brand: Highnote
SKU: 85628279
Availability: OutOfStock

All About Melody

Rating

Album: All About Melody
#	Song Title		Time
1)	On the Real Side	More Info...
2)	Message to Jim Hall	More Info...
3)	Message from Jim Hall	More Info...
4)	Nice Lady	More Info...
5)	Sound for Sore Ears	More Info...
6)	When a Man Loves a Woman	More Info...
7)	Saving All My Love for You	More Info...
8)	Jive Hoot	More Info...
9)	Haunted Heart	More Info...
10)	Biskit	More Info...
11)	He's Gone Away	More Info...

Album: All About Melody
#	Song Title		Time
1)	On the Real Side	More Info...
2)	Message to Jim Hall	More Info...
3)	Message from Jim Hall	More Info...
4)	Nice Lady	More Info...
5)	Sound for Sore Ears	More Info...
6)	When a Man Loves a Woman	More Info...
7)	Saving All My Love for You	More Info...
8)	Jive Hoot	More Info...
9)	Haunted Heart	More Info...
10)	Biskit	More Info...
11)	He's Gone Away	More Info...

Performer Notes

Personnel: Russell Malone (guitar); Rick Germanson (piano); Willie Jones III (drums).
Liner Note Author: Donald Elfman.
Recording information: Systems Two Recodings Studios, Brooklyn, NY (11/10/2015).
Photographer: Christopher Drukker.
Guitarist Russell Malone has always been a highly lyrical, melodic soloist and he spotlights this talent with his 2016 studio effort, All About Melody. Following up his similar small group album, 2015's Love Looks Good on You, All About Melody is a swinging, soulful, laid-back production showcasing Malone's knack for deftly delivered straight-ahead jazz. Joining Malone once again is his longtime working rhythm section of pianist Rick Germanson, bassist Luke Sellick, and drummer Willie Jones III. Together, this quartet makes supple, warm-toned instrumental music in which each player is totally jacked in, intrinsically working to complement the overall happy group vibe. With his big, hollow-body electric guitar, largely unadorned natural tone, and fluid, bop-inflected lines, Malone sounds positively exuberant here. To these ends, he revisits Freddie Hubbard's "On the Real Side," a groove-oriented number he first played on the trumpeter's last studio album. He then continues to pay homage to another of his stylistic inspirations, the late guitarist Jim Hall, with the hushed original "Message to Jim Hall." Poignantly, the track is followed by an actual phone message Hall left for Malone. Elsewhere, Malone keeps things vibrant and romantic with a sweet, unaccompanied take on "When a Man Loves a Woman," and equally amorous, afterglow-illuminated version of "Saving All My Love for You." However, it's not all candlelight and wine. Malone dances through Sonny Rollins' calypso "Nice Lady," and turns up the noise for a frenetic, funky take on Bill Lee's "Biskit." Ultimately, whether he's slipping into an intimate ballad or launching into a swaggering soul-jazz freakout, Malone keeps listeners hanging onto his melodies. ~ Matt Collar