Edwards, Donald: Prelude To Real Life

Donald Edwards is a jazz drummer and has resided in New York the last fifteen years. He has shared the stage with many jazz luminaries including Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Joey Calderazzo and many others. Prelude To Real Life is his second release on Criss Cross Jazz. Backing him is a top notch band including Walter Smith III (tenor sax), David Gilmore (guitar), Orrin Evans (piano), Luques Curtis (bass), Nicholas Payton (Fender Rhodes, piano, organ), Vivian Sessoms (vocals on tracks 3, 5, 10) and Antoine Drye (trumpet on track 12).

On the first track "Taking Shape" Edwards snare comes through in waves and his complicated drums and fills along with Gilmore's flirting guitar work and Payton's playful Fender Rhodes make this one a great way to begin the album. The melodic swing of "Incantation" features a delightful sax solo from Smith while the short and playful "Hop Scotch" has a certain innocence and some great vocals from Sessoms. The band really starts to cook on the swinging "Apple Street" featuring outstanding piano, guitar and sax solos before the softer jazz of "Way To Her" gives way to some fabulous guitar , Fender Rhodes and vocal interplay.

There is a lot of jazz here, about sixty-seven minutes worth and I found every song to be enjoyable and engaging. For jazz enthusiasts Prelude To Real Life comes highly recommended.

Track Listing:
1. Taking Shape (1:57)
2. Incantation (6:22)
3. Hop Scotch (1:00)
4. Apple Street (8:08)
5. Way To Her (8:06)
6. King (0:37)
7. Queen And The Princess (7:36)
8. Stablemates (7:57)
9. Beautiful Intuition (8:55)
10. Thought For The Day (6:56)
11. Skippy (4:33)
12. Prelude To Real Life (4:47)

Added: August 1st 2016
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Label's Official Site
Hits: 1445
Language: english

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