Brand New

I must admit that the first thing that caught my eye on this CD was, with apologies, not the name Alex Graham, but the names Jim Rontondi (trumpet); Steve Davis (trombone); David Hazeltine (piano); Rodney Whitaker (bass); and Carl Allen (drums). When you're in that kind of musical company, it's a pretty fair bet you too have what it takes. And Alex Graham shows there's no doubt on an array of interesting tunes ranging from a couple high flying originals to standards like "All The Things You Are," "Just You Just Me," "Where or When" and "Skylark" to a couple pop things which I'm convinced couldn't be played better. "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "For The Love Of You" were originally pop tunes. Maybe I need to check out the pop scene more carefully. Finally, there's the Cannonball classic, "Wabash," and an early R&B vehicle, "Save Your Love For Me." Graham, Rotondi and Davis get a very satisfying three horn groove going throughout. It adds up to an impressive debut.