Love is a Song Anyone Can Sing, Vol. 2 (Crab Shack Music)
Jack Kilby & the Front Line
Released January 11, 2019
2020 Wammie Best Jazz Album Award Winner
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mwSjPVjE4tMXXosjYJ2XvjGHqAoTLdGBM
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/0ImbaQ0PrzWzUi5EhwQ5Fc?si=3BoNpCelRFmNcV7hjBaejw
About:
Virginia native Jack Kilby is an award-winning bandleader, engineer, producer, and drummer who plays “with a beat that acts as a business card.”
His sextet “Jack Kilby & the Front Line” released their debut album ‘Love Is A Song Anyone Can Sing’ in two volumes in 2018 and 2019. After charting nationally as high as #2 on the NACC and RMR Jazz charts, the album won back-to-back Wammie Awards for “Best Jazz Album” in 2019 for ‘Volume 1’ and 2020 for ‘Volume 2’. The album’s title track, written by tenor saxophonist Charles Owens, also won the 2020 Wammie Award for “Best Jazz Song.” The record was produced by Kilby & Carroll “CV” Dashiell III and mixed & mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Dave Darlington. “The Front Line” features legendary trumpeter John D’earth, tenor saxophone giant Charles Owens, and trombonist Elad Cohen with Kris Monson on bass.
In 2017, Jack began recording local artists at his home studio in Del Ray, Alexandria, lovingly known as “the Crab Shack.” What began with a laptop and two-input recording interface evolved into Crab Shack Music LLC, one of the most popular recording spots for the DMV area’s brightest young artists in genres from country to hip hop, jazz, and experimental fusion. Jack Kilby graduated from T.C. Williams High School in 2007 and the University of Virginia in 2011 (B.S. Biology). In 2013, Kilby relocated to Queens, New York where he attended the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and received his Masters of Music in Jazz Performance in 2015. There he studied with many world famous educators including Michael Philip Mossman, Antonio Hart, Dennis Mackrel, and James McElwaine while studying arranging, production, and drum performance.
Track Listing:
1. Driftin’ (Herbie Hancock) 05:34
2. With Love From Ian Dansey 01:02
3. Jupiter (Gustav Holst) 08:17
4. With Love From Mark G. Meadows 01:07
5. Colors of the Wind (Alan Menken / Stephen Schwartz) 05:26
6. More Love From Ian Dansey 00:49
7. Pure Imagination [Reimagined] 05:52
8. Micah Robinson Concludes 07:24
Personnel:
Jack Kilby: drums, arrangements
John D’earth: trumpet
Charles Owens: tenor sax
Elad Cohen: trombone
Kris Monson: bass
Allyn Johnson: piano
Guests
Antonio Hart: alto sax (3)
Christie Dashiell: vocals (5), arranger (7)
Mark G. Meadows: piano, co-arranger (5)
Braxton Cook: flute (5)
Micah Robinson: vocals (8)
Recorded at Bias Studios, Springfield, VA by
Mike Monseur
Mixed and Mastered by Dave Darlington, New York, NY
Produced by Jack Kilby, Carroll “CV” Dashiell III, Fedel Estefanos,
Van
Crab Shack Music, LLC
Review:
Drummer Jack Kilby creates a wonderful mosaic of sounds as he leads a swinging core hard bop team of Kris Monson/b, Allyn Johnson/p, John D’earth/tp, Charls Owens/ts and Elad Cohen/tb with creative interludes from a wide variety of guests.
The band gets into a hip groove on material like Hank Mobley’s infectious “Hipsippy Blues” and Herbie Hancock’s evocative “Driftin” while even a classical piece like Holst’s “Jupiter” gets a shakeup with the addition of Antonio Hart, Peter Del Grosso and Marcus Tenny on the added horns. A take of Radiohead’s “Life In A Glasshouse” also includes Hart, whle vocals by Christie Dashiell on “Pure Imagination” is a lovely read along with the instrumental take of it. Brief but evocative interludes are found throughout the album, such as a lovely Mark Meadows piano and Kris Monson bass on a pair of “With Love From…” tunes. The whole result is a wonderful tapestry of various colors woven together. Worth searching out!
George W. Harris (Jazz Weekly)
