Search - Marty Grosz :: Just for Fun

Marty Grosz Quartet

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 12/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The audience at the Amerika Haus in Hamburg were really in for a treat that April 13, 1996, when the Marty Grosz Quartet performed for them. With Alan Elsdon on trumpet, John Barnes on reeds, and Murray Wall on drums, the group presents a very handsome evening of music.



Grosz sings on most of the tunes, and his voice sounds a bit more nasal than usual, as if he had a head cold. But it's deep and resonant, and the songs on which Barnes plays baritone sax along with him are especially good. On slow ballads like IT'S THE TALK OF THE TOWN, Barnes's baritone sound is very much like Budd Johnson's when he played the big horn with Earl Hines in the mid-60's. Elsdon plays better on muted trumpet than open horn; for some reason he sounds tentative and choppy without the mute. Marty, as usual, pulls a couple of surprises in his vocals, singing in German for part of a chorus on IF I HAD A TALKING PICTURE OF YOU, and singing the rarely heard verse to AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'. This is a very enjoyable CD, every track is a pleasure. JUST FOR FUN - indeed!"