Hats off to longtime
Craig Chaquico keyboardist
Ozzie Ahlers for stepping out with a solo album not featuring the trademark sound of his longtime partner, one of the genre's most popular performers. His debut Fingerpainting rocks steady from start to finish with blues and funk influences drawn from a sideman career behind the likes of
Jerry Garcia and
Van Morrison. Gladly forgetting about strict airplay considerations,
Ahlers writes instantly hooky, hypnotic melodies but performs them with an edge much rawer and more aggressive than most of his work on
Chaquico's albums. When
Ahlers chooses to aim for a smooth passage or two, he relies on the crack work of
Peter White (who plays steel string on the energetic title cut) and
Jimmy Dillon, who adds slide guitar excitement to a strut down "Bourbon Street." While most of
Ahlers' sensibilities seem to be traceable back to '60s pop, he shows a remarkable facility for true jazz improvisation on the closing track "Morningstar." ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
