SOUL INSIDER was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
Jazz / Jazz-Funk; Contemporary Jazz
Recorded: Carriage House, Stamford, Connecticut; Electric Fields Studio, Warwick, New York; Winsome Farm Studio, North Salem, New York.
Saxophonist Bill Evans gets funky in a "jam band" way with Soul Insider, exploring grooves reminiscent of James Brown, Eddie Harris, the Meters, and Les McCann, who contributes guest vocals on two tracks. There is of course a jazz edge to much of the material, allowing Evans to blow in a manner that brings his peers Michael Brecker and Bob Mintzer to mind. While the grooving can grow monotonous over the course of the hour, there are stellar musicians to recommend the album, including organist/pianist Ricky Peterson, guitarist Dean Brown, bassists James Genus and Tim Lefebvre, and drummer Steve Jordan. Late in the program, "Older Days" breaks up the prevailing funk feel with its moody minor cadences. John Scofield's two potent guest slots, on "Gimme Some" and "Thump," keep things interesting as well, particularly on the former, where the guitar celeb trades fours with Evans' tenor. Spicing things up along the way are the "Voodoo Horns" -- Evans, trumpeter Lew Soloff, and trombonist Conrad Herwig.
---David R. Adler, allmusic
Bill Evans - soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, vocoder
Les McCann - vocals
Dean Brown - guitar
John Scofield - guitar
Lew Soloff - trumpet
Conrad Herwig - trombone
Ricky Peterson - piano, Hammond b-3 organ
James Genus - bass guitar
Tim Lefebvre - bass guitar
Steve Jordan - drums
Don Alias - percussion
Vaneese Thomas - background vocals |
