Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Texas Instruments Jazz Band: AlgoRhythm

193

The Texas Instruments Jazz Band: AlgoRhythm

By

Sign in to view read count
The Texas Instruments Jazz Band: AlgoRhythm
A big band album that runs for less than 35 minutes and includes five vocal tracks. What can one say about that? Well, let's begin by accentuating the positive: the Texas Instruments Jazz Band, which marks its twentieth anniversary with AlgoRhythm, is a fairly decent ensemble, and obviously invested considerable time and energy in producing the album. The four instrumental tracks are actually pretty likable.

So much for the positive. Not to knock Judy Hester, but even though she's an able singer with a seductive voice and admirable diction, she is given far too much time and space to prove it. She's also one of a half-dozen "guest members of the ensemble who aren't employees or former employees of Texas Instruments (not counting director Kris Berg, head of the Jazz Studies department at Collin College in Plano, who qualifies because he owns a TI calculator—and he's the best foreman they could find).

Without Hester on board, the band performs Bronislau Kaper's "Invitation, Jimmy van Heusen's "Come Fly with Me, Bill Holman's "Kingfish (a tad too meekly) and Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn's "Time After Time, the arrangement of which is credited to Tommy Newsom but sounds suspiciously like Don Schamber's (one may even say exactly like Don's). The best among a garden-variety group of soloists are Drs. Gerry Burnham (tenor sax) and Rob Hicks (trumpet); pianist Scott Clemmons plays well on "Kingfish and "Time After Time.

Even though the TI Jazz Band's first album, Jazz Bytes—Version 1.0, recorded seven years ago, had no less than half a dozen vocals by Hester's predecessor, Stephanie Mayo, at least there were five instrumentals, and the playing time was a shade above 41 minutes. While it's true they were paying attention when I wrote "next time, guys, please hold the Mayo, that wasn't meant as a green light to replace her with another pallid side dish in Hester.

In closing, a word of advice: if I were hosting a twentieth anniversary celebration, I wouldn't compel the guests to leave in less than 35 minutes. Let's hope the 25th is a longer and more pleasurable party.

Track Listing

Honeysuckle Rose; Kingfish; Time After Time; Gentle Rain; Come Fly with Me; Sweet Georgia Brown;

Personnel

Kris Berg: director; Bennett Scott, Gary Pearce, Dennis Doane, Jim Gauthier, Rob Hicks: trumpet; Paul Westbrook, Trevor Pavey, Gerry Burnham, Pavel Krocak, Tom Hilburn: reeds; John Bush, Billy Pirkle, J.R. Hutto, Marshall Capps, Don Myers: trombone; Scott Clemmons: piano; Ron Iovine: guitar; Frank LoCrasto: bass; Joe Odneal, Stan Woodward: drums; Herbert Castro: percussion; Judy Hester: vocals.

Album information

Title: AlgoRhythm | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Self Produced

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.