With each successive release turning up the heat on the 85th Birthday celebration, Chico brings back the FUNK on 6th Avenue Romp. Continuing the amazing run of guest spots are: vocalist Brenna Bavis and Allman Brothers drummer Jaimoe on the Smokey Robinson gem “You Really Got A Hold On Me"; trumpeter Jon Faddis' muted musings alongside Chico's vocals on “Take The A Train"; guitarist Shuggie Otis' blistering soloistics on a swinging arrangement of T-Bone Walker's “Strollin' with Bone"; and reprising his special guest appearances on “Juniflip" and “Believe" is former Hamilton band member trombonist George Bohanon augmenting Chico's working “Euphoria" group on the Paul Ramsey penned shuffle powerhouse “Thunderwalk".
Slipping up inside songs out of the R&B canon, Chico and his “Euphoria" group spin swinging bold and beautiful arrangements of timeless classics including: Jr. Walker & The Allstars “Cleo's Mood" and “Cleo's Back"; Bill Wither's “Ain't Got No Sunshine"; Blaze's “Elevation"; Booker T & The MG's “Chicken Pox"; and Stevie Wonder's “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)." Rounding out the set is Cary DeNigris swinging a hole in your head on the Basie chestnut “Topsy", propelled by Chico's high-hat and ride cymbal.
6th Avenue is where Chico lived in LA before moving to NYC in the mid-60's, and 6th Avenue Romp reads like an encyclopedia of patented Hamilton grooves: whether it be that classic “Conquistadors" beat turning “Cleo's Mood" into a guaranteed dance floor stomper; the swinging cymbal-snare-bass drum syncopation of “You Really Got A Hold On Me", “Take The A Train", “Strollin' With Bone", “Thunderwalk", and “Gotta Make Things Right"; the brush & stick bossa on “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever); or the bass drum back beat driven funk of “Ain't No Sunshine", “Chicken Pox", and “Cleo's Back"- every track is a lesson in the Hamiltonian drum ethic!!
Always HIP and ever the consummate MODERNIST, Chico invites the listner to join him and his cohorts in bringing back the FUNK on 6th Avenue Romp, illustrating why Foreststorn “Chico" Hamilton is a NEA JAZZ MASTER and Still THE Man for EVERY GENERATION!!
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