Search - Don Byron :: Do the Boomerang: The Music of Junior Walker

Fans of soul-jazz and old-school R&B should enjoy it

Timothy G. Niland | New Jersey, USA | 10/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Clarinetist and saxophonist Don Byron's eccentricity is well known in the jazz community as he has recorded tributes to musicians of different genres like klezmer artist Mickey Katz and jazz legends Lester Young and Duke Ellington. Add to that list R&B saxophonist Junior Walker, who was active in the Motown scene in the 1960's and 70's. On this album, Byron appropriately concentrates on tenor saxophone and is joined by David Gilmore on guitar, George Colligan on organ, Brad Jones on bass, Rodney Holmes on drums, Curtis Fowlkes trombone and Dean Bowman and Chris Thomas King on vocals. The music on this CD recalls the glory days of rhythm and blues, keeping the songs short and solos to the point. The band works well as a team, with solos being spread generously amongst group members.



"Mark Anthony Speaks" has some great soul-jazz guitar from Gilmore and greasy Jimmy Smith style organ, and the uproarious "Shotgun" has some bootin' tenor saxophone and very cool funky vocals, as does "Pucker Up, Buttercup" which covers the poppy end of the Walker spectrum with swirling organ and swinging vocals. "There It Is" is a little out of place, being a James Brown cover, Brown and Walker were both pillars of soul music, but their approaches were quite different. While the focus is primarily on uptempo numbers, "What Does It Take" does slow things a little bit to a slow simmering pace, and "Satan's Blues" is a slow, grinding number that gets down and dirty. While I'd really like to hear more original music from Byron and fewer tributes, there's no denying that this disc is a lot of fun and fans of soul-jazz and old-school R&B should enjoy it. The cover art is really cool too, I wish this was available on vinyl..."

Dance Cabaret

Tess Heder | 12/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Great pick, Don!



During the 60's, the legendary Jr. Walker and his All Stars band was the undisputed King of dance parties, singer sax player band leader showman song writer hit-maker live performer. His signature whinnying sax intros mellowed as he segued into the 70's writing instrumental classics. The man packed a whole lot of punch into a short life.



'Do The Boomerang' is a well-blended concert of totally danceable smooth jazz with a sultry edge that showcases the music Jr. Walker [as Autry DeWalt Jr.] wrote and made famous. Don Byron's playing and improvisations on tenor sax, clarinet, bass clarinet are consistently terrific. Jazz vocalists Dean Bowman and Chris Thomas King take over and take off with Jr. Walker's vocals, leaving Don free to take off instrumentally and paint his own pictures where Jr. Walker never trod. Likewise for the guitar and trombone members of the band. Hints of rock organ and tambourine keep those great dance beats authentic thruout. The the crew and production are A-OK. Check out the clips!"

Not what I wanted to hear but a good recording for what it i

Scott D. Whigham | Dallas, TX United States | 04/09/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I love Don Byron's creativity and love his fearlessness when choosing music and bands but this album just won't get played by me. The reason why I don't like it is that it it so unlike Don Byron that it bores me lol. I want creative interpretations and to be wowed by some twist here or there when I listed to Don Byron and I don't get that *at all* on this album.



This album is "in the pocket" and it seems to be recorded from the perspective of, "Let's see how close we can sound to a band in the 1970's who is recording an album of covers of a soul band in the 50's." Forget that - I'm not interested in that lol. If you want to cover these great songs, I want to hear it but I *don't* want to hear the exact same arrangements that I can hear in any R&B bar on a Tuesday night jam session :(



Overall, this album is predictable and, if you like soul/blues, you are better off buying an album by someone who does that stuff for a living. Don does a good job playing it but why listen to him when you could just go straight to the source? What's the one thing I don't want from a Don Byron album? Rote sticking to the form and predictability. What do you get on this album? Predictability and rote stick-to-the-1-IV-V."