Just 4 Kicks : Joyful Noise   

Talented, highly-respected music industry educators and arrangers Kirby Shaw, Randy Crenshaw, Kirk Marcy and Vijay Singh were asked by a dear friend, the minister of music at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem, OR, if Just 4 Kicks would perform at an upcoming concert and service at St. Paul's. His parameters were simple: "It needs to be all sacred music, but it needs to be Just 4 Kicks!" The group decided to accept the opportunity as a chance for rejuvenation that it needed, and immediately the creative juices started flowing within the quartet. The event was a huge success, and soon the group found itself in the studio, recording a fresh new book of tunes. We can see from the song list, there's a lot of diversity in these 11 tunes, from the jazzy "Sermonette," scattish "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and "Come Sunday," to a Reggae-flavored, manic "Jesus Loves Me;" to a couple of Bob Dylan tunes, the bluesy "Gotta Serve Somebody" and the Reggae-arranged "Man Gave Names To All The Animals," there's lots of fun stuff here. Other favorites are a hip, finger-popping "Daniel in the Lion's Den," bluenote "A Child is Born," a foot-tapping Bluegrass take on "Walk On" and a hauntingly harmonic "A Quiet Place." We've always loved Just 4 Kicks, and we love this album-it's a great new direction for these talented men, and we look forward to hearing more inspirational, upbeat material like "Joyful Noise" from them!

Songlist: Sermonette, Gotta Serve Somebody, Jesus Loves Me, Come Thou, Almighty King, Jesus Loves the Little Children, Come Sunday, Man Gave Names to all the Animals, Daniel In the Lion's Den, A Child is Born, Walk On, A Quiet Place

Of course, Lambert Hendricks and Ross are no longer new, though they were the epitome of cool jazz in the 1950's. This re-issued double CD set contains a career retrospective - 39 songs worth, though not everything that was on the (unfortunately) discontinued "Twisted" CD - and is a fabulous value. The three personalities of Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and the British Annie Ross complimented and balanced each other uniquely, pushing the jazz envelope, while always retaining their warmth and sensuality. Accompanied by a rhythm combo, and sometimes horns, songs such as "Caravan," "Moanin'" and "Centerpiece" are just as vital now as they ever were. Highly recommended.

Songlist: Disc 1:, Charleston Alley, Moanin', Twisted, Bijou, Cloudburst, Canterpiece, Gimme That Wine, Sermonette, Mummertime, Everybody's Boppin', Disc 2:, Cottontail, All Too Soon, Happy Anatomy, Rocks in my Bed, Main Stem, I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I've Got, Things Ain't What They Used to Be, Midnight Indigo, What Am I Here For?, In a Mellow Tone, Caravan, Disc 3:, Come On Home, The New A B C, Farmer's Market, Cookin' at the Continental, With Malice Toward Nono, Hi-Fly, and more