Search - Dylan Cramer :: Bumpin on Sunset

Smooth or hot?

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 10/23/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I get the feeling from this CD that Dylan Cramer is trying to make up his mind whether to be a "smooth" jazz player a la Grover Washington, et.al., or the real deal; I hope he opts for the latter because he's certainly got the talent and chops to make his mark in the legitimate jazz world. Quite a few of the tunes here are slow, simple ballads, heavy on the synthesizer; they are pleasant and dreamy but oh so surfacey. Others, however (the two Wes Montgomery songs and Carl Perkins's GROOVE YARD, for example), have Dylan flexing some muscle and show a lot of swing. On these tunes his talent comes to the forefront, and his prowess on the alto sax is revealed superbly. He plays in a post-bop style and sounds a lot to me like another excellent alto man playing today - Dave Glaser. Both play with a cool, metallic sound rather than warm and reedy. Come on, Dylan, forget the jazz lite stuff and let it all hang out - we need more of the real deal kind of jazz out there today."

Cramer Blows Soulful(l) Notes

V Plum | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cramer's blows his alto sax soooo smoooooth - the CD is lyrical, soulful(l), romantic, warm, sophisticated, playful with gorgeous trills. The other musicians are great too, especially the pianist. This CD is a perfect compliment to Diana Krall."