Jeff Jarvis Following Footsteps CD

This outing from trumpeter Jeff Jarvis is quite commercial, with mundane originals, a few pop/R&B tunes, and Thad Jones' "A Child Is Born" all being given consistently unimaginative treatment. Jarvis is a technically skilled trumpeter with a warm sound and there are some strong players on this set, including tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts, Shelly Berg on keyboards, and guitarist Grant Geissman. But the arrangements are run of the mill, none of the themes are memorable, and the rhythm section generally sounds as if everything was written out ahead of time. If some of these cuts received radio airplay at the time, then perhaps this CD could be considered a success at its goal. But since the disc soon went out of print, it seems to have fallen short on all levels. ~ Scott Yanow

Live Recording

Recorded at Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California and Quad Studios, New York, New York.

Personnel: Jeff Jarvis (trumpet, flugelhorn, horns); Lani Groves, Nicki Richards, Will Lee (vocals); Grant Geissman (guitar); Bob Mintzer (alto flute, tenor saxophone, horns); Ernie Watts (tenor saxophone); Matt Harris (keyboards, programming); Ellen Rowe, Shelly Berg (keyboards); Leon "Ndugu" Chancler (drums); Brian Kilgore (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Larry Swist.

Recording information: Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA (1998); Quad Studios, Ner York City (1998); Quad Studios, NY, NY (1998).

Illustrator: Barbara Rickard.

Arranger: Jeff Jarvis.

Personnel: Jeff Jarvis (trumpet, flugelhorn, horns); Will Lee, Lani Groves, Nicki Richards (vocals); Bob Mintzer (tenor saxophone, alto flute, horns); Ernie Watts (tenor saxophone); Matt Harris (keyboards, programming); Shelly Berg, Ellen Rowe (keyboards); Grant Geissman (guitar); Freddie Washington (bass); Ndugu Chancler (drums); Brian Kilgore (percussion).