Mo' City Jungle CD

Personnel: Keith Javors (piano); Keith Javors; Juan Carlos Rollan (tenor saxophone); Ray Callender (trumpet, flugelhorn); Ricky Ravelo (double bass); John Davis & the Georgia Sea Island Singers, John Davis (drums); Dane Bays (alto saxophone).
Liner Note Authors: Keith Javors; Russ Musto; Bunky Green.
Recording information: Starke Lake Studios, Ocoee, FL (08/05/2002/08/06/2002).
Photographer: Ron Breaker.
Keith Javors, a jazz educator who is a talented pianist, plays in a modal style at times reminiscent of McCoy Tyner. He contributed all eight of the compositions on Mo' City Jungle, his third recording as a leader. At times the music sounds like an extension of the legacy of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, but the chord structures are generally complex and the soloists are a bit more modern. While "Mo' City Jungle" is a medium-up minor blues that serves to introduce the members of the sextet, other pieces use more advanced chord changes that clearly challenge the soloists. None of the three horn players has a distinctive and memorable voice yet (both of the saxophonists hint at Michael Brecker at times) and Dane Bays' tone is a bit grating on the ballad "Afternoon in Roatan." On the plus side, Javors is an excellent soloist and his music is never predictable or overly safe. The driving "Conclusion of the Matter" is a high point of this worthy set. ~ Scott Yanow