Search - Spike Robinson :: Cts Session

Spike's last session

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 10/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm quite sure that the year this session was recorded, 1998, was also the occasion of his returning to his and my home town of Kenosha, Wisconsin. He played a session--nice but not overly impressive and moreover accompanied by an underpowered local rhythm section. But it was my introduction to Spike Robinson who, between his brief stint in the Navy and long one as an engineer, stayed away from music until he was 56 years old.



When he got back in, he quickly made up for lost time, making as many as 20 albums, with this being his last. My favorites would be the ones with Al Cohn, Ellyn Rucker, and the Harry Warren album with a rhythm section of Ray Brown and Victor Feldman. But "The CTS Session," though not Spike at his best, is a fitting goodbye. What he once had in Sinatra-like elongated phrasing, with seemingly no time off for taking a breath, he makes up for in innate musicality and understanding of his material. The highlight is "If She Walked into My Life," done with as much feeling as the best Sinatra-Riddle ballad performances. It's so good it hurts, the pain stemming from the recognition that the artist's been to a place even darker, more lonely than the listener's-- beauty purchased at a price so dear the rest of us can only breathe a sigh of relief it wasn't ours.



He was the last of a breed--a completely unassuming, unpretentious, agenda-less, amicable traveling tenor troubador who had his share of demons but basically no other aim than to play his horn and give pleasure through a melodic gift that could never be taught. Most of his albums are already out of print, and I rarely encounter a Kenoshan who remembers him or who's heard of him. Somehow, I doubt Spike would much care. He made a living, then rounded out his life by actually doing some living. How many of us can claim the same?"

The mellow horn of Spike Robinson

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 08/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In October of 1998, Spike Robinson made a tour of England that included concert dates and this recording session. It must have been the tour from hell because it seems like if anything could go wrong it did: flights were delayed forcing Spike to miss an engagement, his axe was stolen, traffic jams forced further delays, he got lost late one night in London, and then it took seven years before these sides were released. Using a borrowed horn, Spike performs marvelously on this date. He is as warm and engaging as ever here; his gorgeous Lestorian tenor sax sound is on full display. With his modern mainstream approach and mellow, lyrical tone, he reminds you immediately of the pre-bossa nova Stan Getz - swinging and melodically compelling.



Spike is wonderful, whether swinging all out hard (YOU SAY YOU CARE, THE BEST THING FOR YOU, and PEOPLE WILL SAY WE'RE IN LOVE) or exploring all the nooks and crannies of a slow ballad (SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES, IF SHE WALKED INTO MY LIFE, and SOON IT'S GONNA RAIN). Pianist John Williams plays very well and is featured on two selections, NOBODY ELSE BUT ME and SUMMER NIGHT; this last tune is a real barn-burner that also has good Bill Crow on bass (Crow and Williams played together with Getz in the early `50s) and lyrical brushwork by drummer Peter Cater. Accoustic guitarist Louis Stewart is added on a few numbers and takes an especially impressive solo on POTLUCK. There isn't a bum lick anywhere on this CD; repeated listenings will be in order. Why DID it take seven years to get this released?

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