SWINGING LIKE NAT AND OSCAR…Mike Jones: Mike Jones With Strings

Rare is the trio that is drummerless these days, and rarer the one that is not abstract and cacophonic. Pianist Mike Jones returns to the light as air swing feel of Nat King Cole and Oscar Peterson’s early work with Angelenos Alex Frank/b and Graham Dechter/g to bring back the lithe pulse of small group swing. Jones’ touch is in the same mold, not overly complex and born in stride, with Dechter’s Wes Montgomery-weaned picking and strumming teamed with Frank’s firm foundation, so you’ve got the perfect mix for reads of a galloping “Lady Be Good” and bouncy “Deed I Do”. Dechter is sublime during “Autumn Leaves” and makes the strings moan on “Kelly’s Blues”, while Jones dances like Fred Astaire over “Gone With The Wind”. Flying right.

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