No Coasting From Lounge Art Ensemble

With drummer Peter Erskine (Stan Kenton, Weather Report), bassist Dave Carpenter (Maynard Ferguson, Andy Summers) and saxophonist Bob Sheppard (Steely Dan, currently with Chick Corea), the Lounge Art Ensemble combines the best of old and new, ability and attitude, collaborative and individual achievement. Refashioning standards in its own image, the trio makes for relaxed yet inventive play that allows personal skills to shine. Erskine’s mastery of embellishment and percussive shading, Carpenter’s brisk walks and ringing double-stops and Sheppard’s pithy yet meaningful lines come together in a single voice. The tunes themselves are heavily disguised: “I Hear a Rhapsody” becomes a moody lament entitled “I Hear a Rap CD”; “Perdido,” graced with Sheppard’s echoing overtones, becomes a dance entitled “Pretty Toes.” While much of what passes as lounge music today is musically second-rate, the Lounge Art Ensemble is no collection of slackers. (Available on the Web at erskoman@aol.com.)

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