Artist: Dick Berk
Album: East Coast Stroll
Label: Reservoir Music
Year Of Release: 1993
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Tracklist:
01. Bathrobe Blues
02. East Coast Stroll
03. Everything Happens to Me
04. That Party Upstairs
05. the Things We Did Last Summer
06. Sos
07. Workin’ with Berk
08. We’ll Be Together Again
09. Klactoveedsetene
Personnel:
Dick Berk (drums),
John Hicks (piano),
Jay Collins (tenor saxophone),
Ray Drummond (bass),
Dan Faehnle (guitar)
This release from drummer Dick Berk & the Jazz Adoption Agency teams together three veterans (Berk, pianist John Hicks, and bassist Ray Drummond) with the promising young tenor Jay Collins and the frequently exciting guitarist Dan Faehnle. The music ranges from bop (a cooking rendition of Charlie Parker’s “Klactoveedsetene”) and the soul-jazz of Collins’ “East Coast Stroll” to a 6/4 version of “Everything Happens to Us” and Wes Montgomery’s rarely played “SOS.” Every selection is enjoyable, including the heated blues “That Party Upstairs” and Collins’ ballad feature on “We’ll Be Together Again.” This underrated band was one of the best in 1990s hard bop.
Review by Scott Yanow
