CD Review: Justin Horn - Hornology.

Justin  Horn (vcl);  Mike DeRose (gtr);  Jim  Sodke  (keys); Eric Hervey (bs); Ryan Schiedermayer (dms/ perc); Thomas Barber, Jeff Pietrangelo (tpts); Warren Wiegratz (alt);  Andrew Spadafora (ten/bar); Patricia Horn (perc); Ameerah Tatum (vcl).

(Review by Debra M.)

Justin Horn is a composer, arranger and vocalist, currently pursuing a PhD in Auckland, New Zealand, studying the philosophy of music.  Presumably, this information has been provided partly to explain why he won't be touring to promote his newly released CD. On the evidence of Hornology , he has majored in groove based pop with a definite jazz funk influence. 

All but  one of the tracks are original, and his arrangements combine his smooth  vocal interspersed with melodic  horn lines, underpinned by  Ryan Schiedermayer on drums and Eric Hervey on bass.  

The first track, Open The Door,  lies somewhere between the musical territories of Jamiroquai, Sade and Ben Folds, and this initial impression is confirmed in the subsequent  songs, culminating  in a soulful duet with Ameerah Tatum, which is reminiscent of Brand New Heavies.  Same Thing’ll Happen is an unexpected digression into a straightforward blues, which gives the guitarist Mike Derose the chance to have some fun and Andrew Spadafora to play a raunchy sax solo. The best tracks, though, are when Horn gets more adventurous. ‘Zig Zag’ is an extended instrumental which gets seriously funky; Scheidermayer and Hervey excel, providing the ideal backdrop for trumpeter Thomas Barber. Makin’ Bacon is also fun and funky, with some good saxes, percussion and possibly genuine sizzling rashers.  But my favourite is Horn’s arrangement of Wayne Shorter’s Footprints, which starts with percussion and vocal, followed by a lovely bass riff, and includes a sumptuous trumpet solo. This track definitely makes it onto the ‘Late Night Grooves’ playlist.

Justin Horn - Hornology was released earlier this year on Rotato Records.

Debra M.