Bands & Projects:   Current B & P  • Afro-Semitic Experience  • Chevan and Byrd Duo  • Bassology

	Bassology's newest album: IMAGINATION RON BRAGGS WITH BASSOLOGY RECKLESS DC MUSIC RMCD-1040 The new CD from Bassology featuring the voice of Ronald Braggs.

    "Fly me to the moon/ let me play among the stars," sings Ron Braggs, digging his smooth baritone into the Bart Howard tune. The second cut on Imagination, the new Bassology disc that showcases Braggs' two-fer punch as drummer and vocalist,"Fly Me To The Moon" transports the listener from the mundane to the sublime. Listening to this recording, I felt the tug of a more terrestrial destination. Its suave cadences conjure an invitation to jet off with one's beloved to the cafes of Paris for a romantic getaway. This is music for gazing into each other's eyes, dining by candlelight, the clink of wine glasses as the hour approaches midnight. Or, perhaps, Sunday mornings of fresh, aromatic coffee and croissants in bed of sunshine and smiles. Recorded this past spring, almost all the cuts were captured live in one take with no over dubs. It is, as Bassology leader and bassist David Chevan says, the repertoire of a working jazz band. A blend of ballads and mid-tempo songs with some more breezy instrumentals thrown into the mix, this is a set of standards, the cream of the jazz crop. They are attractive to seasoned jazz musicians, according to Chevan, because "there's something about the harmonic content that makes them really appealing to play." "They are translucent. You can see right through them and project ideas that develop beyond a few beats," notes Chevan. Braggs has been singing these songs for years. It shows. He inhabits the material effortlessly, projecting a quiet confidence. That he does so while playing drums at the same time doubly amazes. "The first session was shortly after Joe Williams died. We dedicated it to him," recalls Braggs, a fan of the late vocal great. Besides Williams, Braggs cites Lou Rawls, Billy Eckstine and Stevie Wonder as other favorites. While Braggs' vocals are surely the focus, this is truly an ensemble effort enriched by each member's contribution. It is marked by the intuitive interplay of a group that has honed its approach to these tunes in performance. There is a light, deft touch of swing, the tonal colors of the blues. The piano prowess of Chris Casey, who played on two-thirds of the tracks, is spotlighted on "Stompin' At The Savoy." Lush piano work by Noah Baerman punctuates "On Green Dolphin Street." The first verse of "The Shadow Of Your Smile" is flavored by the sweet groan of Chevan's bass. Will Bartlett's clarinet solo on the insinuating "Teach Me Tonight"unfolds with fluid grace; his shiny, quicksilver-like sax lines ride Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Wave." "We had a good time doing it. I'm pleased with the way it's come out," says Braggs. "Hopefully, people will enjoy it." I would say so. I don't expect to jet off to Paris any time soon. But I can get there if I use my Imagination. Hank Hoffman, from the liner notes to Imagination.

Bassology's latest CD, Imagination, was recorded live in the studio with virtually no overdubs. This is pretty amazing when you consider that Ron Braggs was playing drums and singing and that he did this on all but one of the vocal selections (we dare you to guess which song had the vocals recorded later!!). The album is expected to be released in late November 1999, just in time for the holiday season. It is chock full of classic standards and with the pump and drive of the Bassology rhythm section on every track you know this is one CD thats going to swing from beginning to end.