ADAM
LEVY
BUTTERMILK CHANNEL
2001 Lost Wax Music
"I
don't know if guitarist Adam Levy made Buttermilk
Channel with the searing heat of New York
in July in mind, but his impressive debut effort
as a leader makes perfect listening for lazy,
languorous midsummer city days.
"On
this groove-based trio album (featuring New
York stalwarts Larry Goldings on organ and Kenny
Wollesen on drums), Levy creates a mood of laid-back
cool, as he blends classic jazz guitar ('Sphere
of Influence'), down-home blues ('I Guess'),
tropical rhythms ('Orange You Glad') and sophisticated
Steely Dan pop ('Dear John') into a rich, coherent
musical stew. Like fellow guitar heavy Bill
Frisell, Levy's genre-hopping is natural and
unforced. He's equally comfortable bending blues
notes a la B.B. King or playing straight-ahead
jazz solos in the manner of, say, Kenny Burrell.
And like Frisell, Levy is one of the few electric
guitar players who favors subtlety over showmanship,
who allows the music to unfold slowly rather
than feeling the need to show off his chops
constantly — though, make no doubt about
it, Levy has chops to spare.
"While
the range of influences here is diverse (not
surprising for an artist who has worked with
everyone from John Zorn to Tracy Chapman), Buttermilk
Channel feels of one piece, like there's
actually a central unifying vision at work —
a rare thing today when most jazz CDs sound
like a slapdash assortment of unrelated songs.
That sense of unity is due mostly to Levy's
compositions, which are adventurous, yet accessible,
well-crafted yet not over-written. And the presence
of talented, likeminded cohorts like Goldings
and Wollesen doesn't hurt either.
"All
in all, a very rewarding effort that warrants
repeated listening, especially as the steamy
days of August approach."
—allaboutjazz.com
