...Hittin' The Blue Notes attains a level of excitement that can't fail to engage an audience.
The appropriately named Dynamic Les DeMerle Band is back for volume two with arrangements on some of the great hits of the Blue Note record label and tunes that evoke the spirit of those recordings. As an added bonus, volume two features two tracks with the legendary blues vocalist Jimmy Witherspoon. About volume one, Jazz Review wrote "His band is dynamic, in large part because of the irresistible beat that DeMerle sets up for each tune, and also because the other members of his band share DeMerle's unabashed love of the Blue Note classics, expressed in tribute with reverence, without solemnity, but with a propulsive style that's consistent with the inspiring nature of the original recordings."
Track Listing:
1. Sister Sadie 4:35
2. Cantaloupe Island 4:31
3. Sandu 5:36
4. Invitation 6:16
5. Alfie 4:25
6. Route 66 2:55
7. The Sidewinder 6:12
8. Killer Joe 6:02
9. From The Hip 3:59
10. Goin' To Chicago 3:00*
11. Money's Gettin' Cheaper 2:53*
Performers:
The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band:
Les DeMerle - drums/vocals
Bonnie Eisele - vocals
Marvin Ferebee - trumpet/flugelhorn
Keith Holmes - alto/tenor/soprano sax, flute
Matt Vance - alto/tenor/baritone sax, flute
Kevin Wilder - piano/keyboards
Ricky Ravelo - bass
Sam Rodriguez - percussion
Special Guest -
Blues Legend, JIMMY WITHERSPOON*
Production Info:
Produced by Les DeMerle with Ron Hitchcock
Recorded by Les DeMerle Music Unlimited Productions, Jacksonville FL
Mixed by Ron Hitchcock at Peace In The Valley
Mastered by Ron Hitchcock and Robert Hadley at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood, CA
Graphic Design: John Bishop
Album Notes: Dr. Herb Wong
Photos: David Burghardt, Island Photography
Photo of Les & Louie: Bonnie Eisele
Reviews of Hittin' the Blue Notes, Volume 2
All About Jazz (Dan McClenaghan)
A lot of us jazz fans cut our listening teeth on Blue Note records by Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan and more. The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band's Hittin' the Blue Notes, Vol. 2 celebrates that classic sound with a set of swinging, hard-driving hard bop tunes.
Les DeMerle sat in the drummer's chair in the Harry James Orchestra for twelve year ...
Sacramento Radio (Dick Crockett)
A nu-bop version to what's happening then...now! This is hard bop with a west coast swinging so grab your sweet other's hand and do some half time. This is more physical, then cerebral Bacchus celebration. We played Bobby Troup's "Route 66." Let's be clear about this, De Merle would bring the house down in Vegas with this DeMerle-a-la-mena. You op ...
All Music Guide (Scott Yanow)
Most of the music on this CD, which features drummer Les DeMerle and his straight-ahead sextet/septet, seems to have been recorded in 2000; no exact date is given. However since the late blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon is on "Goin' to Chicago" and "Money's Getting' Cheaper" (from a live date while backed by a trio with DeMerle) and he passed away in ...
