Ron Jackson - Flubby Dubby

Ron Jackson - Flubby Dubby

2011, Roni Music

Ron Jackson is one of the most versatile and well-traveled guitarist in New York City.   With performances in over twenty countries, and collaborations with artists such as Taj Mahal, Little Anthony and The Imperials, Cissy Houston, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Benny Golson and Les Paul, Jackson earned his stripes long ago.  A graduate of The Berklee School of Music, Jackson is himself an instructor at several schools throughout the greater Metropolitan New York region.  Jackson has also performed in the orchestra of such Broadway/off Broadway shows as Rent, Avenue Q, Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk and Saturday Night Fever.  Jackson's album, Flubby Dubby, produced by the legendary Melvin Sparks, shows off his signature soul/funk style of jazz guitar, refreshing in its energy and classic in its sound. 

Flubby Dubby opens with "One For Melvin", featuring stylishly laid back guitar work, and Hammond Organ work that's absolutely over the top.  The free-form style here is hot and highly entertaining, evoking a 1960's Vegas chic.  The energy here is fantastic.  "The Look Of You is frenetic and upbeat; one of those recordings that conveys the pure joy the musicians must have felt as they laid it down the first time.  Jackson's arrangement of Paul McCartney's "The Long And Winding Road" uses the classic melody as a starting point, but quickly breaks into free-form improvisation.  This is definitely a jazz take, but manages to keep McCartney's distinctive melodicism intact even when spinning yarns grown far from the original melody line. 

"Flubby Dubby" is a nearly eight-minute epic full of vibrant energy.  Jackson pulls in the occasional Hendrix-inspired fugue, ala "Purple Haze", which isn't as perplexing as it might, at first, sound.  "Love Ballad" is a subtle turn that features some of Jackson's best guitar work on the album, and the NPG-style horn section is a nice touch as well.  Jackson's take on Frank Perkins' "Stars Fell On Alabama" features a sweet, lyric guitar style that speaks distinctly of the decade the song was born (1930's).  Organist Kyle Koehler gets a chance to show off, sounding like he's taking stylistic cues from Ray Charles and Miles Davis simultaneously.  "Technophile" has a frantic feel, with synth/organ set to a complex house beat.  It's a tremendous listen that challenges the listener to keep up, and is a nice change of pace.  "A Calypso Party" is a winsome little tune you'll have a hard time not dancing along with.  Flubby Dubby closes with "Get In The Country", a dynamic free-form improv piece with serious hints of funk in the bass line.  Jackson and Koehler exchange blistering solos that are very much worth sticking around for.

Most people can name the big names in jazz, just as in pop, rock, blues, country or other genres.  Somewhere between those elite names and the scores of working musicians haunting jazz clubs all across the country are guys like Ron Jackson.  Well known in the right circles, Ron Jackson is quietly one of the jazz guitarists in music.  Ask any big name musician who has taken part in the New York Jazz scene, and they will know exactly who Ron Jackson is.  Its artists such as Jackson who help define the artistic brilliance of big names as session men and live support.  But often such artists as much talent (and sometimes more) than the folks they support.  Jackson is known, but his name recognition is not requisite with his talent level.  Flubby Dubby displays Jackson's talent in inarguable terms, as a composer, arranger and performer.  This is an album that's difficult to put down.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Ron Jackson at www.ronjacksonmusic.com or www.myspace.com/ronjacsonmusic.    Flubby Dubby is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Original Cast Recording - Things To Ruin: The Songs Of Joe Iconis

Original Cast Recording - Things To Ruin: The Songs Of Joe Iconis

2010, Ghostlight Records

Ghostlight Records continues their groundbreaking documentation of under the radar cast recordings with Things To Ruin: The Songs Of Joe Iconis.  While theatrical in nature, Things To Ruin isn't so much a musical as a series of musical vignettes around the theme of human imperfection and the constant effort to be more than we are.  Iconis is one of the bright young voices in musical theater; the winner of multiple awards including the 2006 Larson Award and 2007 Kleber Award.  Things To Ruin brings to light the collision between life and dreams, spread out across the battlefield of scarred and damaged but essentially decent human beings.  Delivered in a musical score that takes its tunefulness from 1960's rock and its ruthless beat from New York City punk, Things To Ruin is struck with such honest poise and stark human imperfection it has the potential to speak across generations.  The Cast of Things To Ruin includes Nick Blaemire, Katrina Rose Dideriksen, Badia Farha, Sarah Glendening, Eric William Morris, Lance Rubin and Jason "Sweet Tooth" Williams.

Things To Ruin opens with "I Was Born This Morning (The Cicada Song)", an ensemble song that reflects the vitality, vanity and recklessness of youth.  It's an angry, vital rocker built on a simplistic piano riff and shows its roots in shows such as Rent quite clearly.  Jason "Sweet Tooth" Williams goes large on the dynamic and funny "Nerd Love", taking excitement from his intended's asthma attack "nothing's quite as rad as asthma baby, it's as cool as lung disorders can be".  "The War Song" cuts a political edge in a song about gaining control over your own life, an interesting juxtaposition of being in a war versus the concept of self-actualization.  It's an entertaining tune that uses humor to soften the blows but goes full for the body. 

"Asleep On My Arm" finds Nick Blaemire talking his way through a relationship of convenience, weighing the pros (she's his boss's daughter) and the cons (boredom, restlessness) in an immature dialogue that's expositive of the character without casting him entirely unflattering light.  "The Guide To Success" is one of the highlights of the show, offering words of wisdom from the rich and powerful on how to succeed in a jaded world.  The lyrics border on trite, but Iconis' performance is fittingly cold and sinister and stands out.  "Head Shot" explores humanity's tendency to try to fix deep problems with superficial changes.  Sarah Glendening, Katrina Rose Dideriksen and Badia Farha work this one up nicely with a delicious mix of desperation, denial and angst.  "The Whiskey Song" is a rock n roll ode, but you could just easily here this song in an arrangement ala The Pogues.  Perhaps the Celtic/Punk style would have been too trite, but the arrangement here almost makes the song sound like it's in disguise.

"Son Of A Gun" is an anthem for the eternal bachelor, and Eric William Morris sings it with all of the conceit and corresponding insecurity of those afraid to commit and afraid of being alone.  It's a brilliant performance and one of the better character sketches on the album.  "Just Means" is a classic letdown song (it's not you, it's me) that belies its own principles with hedging lyrics and an emotional unease that's compelling.  The song is solidly written, but Badia Farha brings it to life in palpable and messy emotional terms.  "Helen" finds Jason "Sweet Tooth" Williams and company discovering that a former pre-school girlfriend has found her way into the adult entertainment industry.  It's a song where the idealistic expectations of youth run headlong into the grey-scale realities of adult life    "Almost There" finds Katrina Rose Dideriksen on the verge of realizing her dreams; confidence grows even as she prepares to step across the threshold into the life she wants and she can't help but shout it out to the world.  Self-actualization comes with "Never Heard Nothing", a coming of age song as adults.  The show closes with a reprise of "I Was Born This Morning", an acknowledgment that we are all reborn each day based on our actions and inspirations.

Things To Ruin is an incredibly ambitious and ultimately messy experience, but that's the point.  The Original Cast Recording flows about as well as life does, which is to say that sometimes it does and sometimes very poorly.  Nevertheless there isn't a missed opportunity here.  You don't get every detail about the characters, and you don't need them.  This isn't that kind of story.  Things To Ruin is a series of inter-connected vignettes about different people with different dreams that serves to illuminate that each day is a choice built on the culmination of choices previously made.  Failure or success aren't capricious, but built with each waking moment and always subject to a change in direction.  It's the search for this knowledge and the ultimate realization that ties Things To Ruin together.  Joe Iconis is a dynamic writer, and the Cast Recording is well-cast.  The show may have a limited appeal to those who have been involved in the theater community, not having the universal appeal of other shows set in the same sort of setting.  Essentially, Things To Ruin is a bit too full of its own virtues, assuming a connection with a lifestyle that only those who ever performed a live in the performing arts will truly understand.  But for what it is, it is an extremely successful illustration in song.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Joe Iconis at http://www.mrjoeiconis.com/ or www.myspace.com/joeiconis.  Learn more about Things To Ruin: The Songs Of Joe Iconis at www.sh-k-boom.com/thingstoruin.  Things To Ruin is currently available digitally through Amazon.com or iTunes.  The double album will be released on CD on November 16, 2010.  Pre-orders are available through Amazon.com.