Evergreen

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Evergreen, from Jun Iida and I like it's upbeat attack. Opening with Gooey Butter Cake a real nice track, Jun Iida on trumpet has the melody, with a adventurous bass line by Jonathan Richards. Josh Nelson on piano lays in a really nice, New Orleans flavored solo complimented heavily by Xavier Le Couturier on drums and Masami Kuroki on guitar follows with a spicy guitar solo of his own making this a really ice opener. Title track, Evergreen is a really solid track and one that should command airplay with Aubrey Johnson singing the melody along with Iida on trumpet. With bright piano work by Nelson, aggressive bass work by Richards, clean melodic soloing by Kuroki on guitar and excellent fusion style drumming by Le Couturier, this is certainly one of my favorites on the release. Love Theme From Spartacus is a really nice track with a floating melody by Iida, strongly supported by Nelson on guitar and sparce bass work by Richards. Wrapping the release is Holding On To Autumn, another Brazilian favored track with melody by Iida and counter melody by Johnson vocally. Interweaving these two themes throughout the track, this is a solid closer.