All This And Heaven Too

Album review

When one learns that vibraphonist Chuck Redd got his start as a drummer in the Charlie Byrd Trio, it's easy to understand where he began developing his taste. All This and Heaven Too, his second album as a leader, even resembles a particular Byrd album that he played on in 1998, Au Courant. Like that album, Redd has combined vibraphones with guitar and bass for an intimate but spunky sound. Four of the tracks are filled out a bit by Ken Peplowski on either tenor sax or clarinet. The album gets a bouncy start with "How About You?" before delving into the quieter "More Than You Know." Redd's solos are filled with melody and lovingly realized, while Gene Bertoncini, switching between the electric and acoustic guitar, injects his leads with rhythm and soul. George Mraz's bass holds it all together, offering a steady underpinning to the trio. While song choices like Irving Berlin's "They Say It's Wonderful" reveal the band's interest in traditional forms, the group also tackles Charlie Parker's "Barbados." It only made sense that once classic forms of jazz became established in the '80s and '90s, instruments assigned to the dustbin -- clarinets, acoustic guitars, and vibraphones -- would make a comeback. Chuck Redd and friends, however, accomplish much more than a rehashing of yesteryear on All This and Heaven Too. While fans of older jazz styles will enjoy the album, anyone interested in superbly executed music should give it a listen.

© Ronnie D. Lankford Jr. /TiVo