REVIEW OF “MIXOLOGY” FROM SKOPE MAGAZINE
| A Review By Bill Copeland The striking feature running through all of the songs on Tom West’s first solo CD is his compositional strengths. Each song has precisely what it needs to flourish inside of its own framework and each has enough texture to engage the listener. This is sophisticated stuff. West, who plays keyboards and sings, writes the kind of songs that reveal more tensions, textures, melodic phrases and beats with each listen. West and his band open with "Change In Time," a light number with West tinkling gently on the keys to create pleasant melodies. Combined with his smooth, mellow voice West gives the tunes a breezy, jazzy feel. But the pace soon changes. On "Joy Street" West interacts more briskly with bass player Jesse Williams whose peppy bass lines weaves with Gordon Beadles’s sultry saxophone to make for one hip concoction. West’s tune, "Say When," features West singing in a lower register while guitarist Kevin Barry’s melodic phrase traipses lightly through a bopping rhythm section. Where one track makes you picture people sitting quietly in a piano bar, another will make you visualize people slowly swaying on the dance floor. The free spirited title track, "Mixology," plays out with seemingly light touches from all the players. But upon further listening, has a lot to offer the ear. There is so much going on in this CD that it demands to be listened to again and again. Anyone who gives it repeated listening will come away with something new each time. If I listen to it tens times, I would have to write ten different reviews, each commenting on some aspect I didn’t quite notice or understand the significance of the last time I gave it a spin. "Dag Nab it" is a feisty track, with Scott Shetler laying down a smoking sax line over a thumping rhythm section. Here, West becomes one of the rhythm section and comps the melody from Shetler and Barry. Occasionally hiding himself in the rhythm section is one of West’s best strengths, giving his players a chance to shine in a different ways than a piano player would. Aggressive guitar from co-producer Chris Rival and a driving beat give quasi-fusion piece "Buffalo Song" a modern rock feel. A striding piano and Shetler’s bluesy saxophone line fit right in. And again, this is something that attests to the compositional skills of Mr. West, taking these elements and forging them into a single style. "Family Man" makes light of daily tensions in the home and West’s smooth tenor sounds its coolest here. The music is jazzy and bopping, even though it’s not completely jazz idioms and scales that he’s using. Yet again, West draws enough from different genres to paint the scene. West’s debut CD "Mixology" will surely be appreciated by fans of well written music as well as blues and jazz enthusiasts. There are some really clever things going on in this CD, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who already knows Mr. West from his numerous projects in the greater Boston area. ---Bill Copeland |