Joe Sample

[neveronfriday]

Either my search skills suck or this CD hasn't come up here yet.

Many people will probably yell at me for posting this but despite my usually avoiding anything Sample has recorded the past two decades or so, this CD gets a lot of airplay at my place.

This review from Amazon really nails why I like this CD:

If you have problems to fall asleep, this might be the right Cd for you. But if you like to hear Joe Sampleas you are used to him, forget it. I think he has made this record alone for his own pleasure. I only give two stars because he is Joe Sample.

Most of the other reviews elsewhere usually avoid really reviewing the disk saying that it is Sample and that he's reached an age at which he doesn't need to prove anything, (hence the neutrality of the review) ...

All the ones I read online that have a serious look at the disk don't really like it and word their reviews about like this (JazzTimes):

Throughout his long keyboard career, both as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders and as a solo artist, Joe Sample believed that "if you played the piano in a stride or ragtime or boogie-woogie manner, you wouldn't need a bass player, you didn't need a drummer." After all, he says, "That's how I started playing in the first place. I've been a solo pianist since I was six years old." So on his first recording all by himself, Soul Shadows (Verve), Sample plays stride, ragtime and boogie-woogie versions of the ultraclassics that no doubt populated his youthful ivory-tinkling: "Ain't Misbehavin'," "I Got Rhythm," "Embraceable You," even "The Entertainer." Of course, he plays them now with a lot more experience, and he has a sharp ear for when and where to throw in the accents, spiky harmonies, rephrasings, runs and general mischief that make these styles so stimulating. But with the exception of two of his own Crusaders songs (the title track and "Spellbound"), we've heard many, many fine old-time versions of these songs from back when they weren't quite so familiar, and Sample's versions just can't make the same impact. Soul Shadows could have been a must-hear if Sample's repertoire had grown along with his technique."

Hm.

I guess I suck at recorgnizing good technique. I'm also apparently not conservative enough. Despite a large number of classic interpretations or original recordings of many of these tunes in my collection, I still love this disk (and the sound quality).

Anyone have it and share my enthusiasm?

You can listen to an NPR interview with SDample discussing this recording: NPR Interview

Edited July 25, 2005 by neveronfriday