Bob
DeVos
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Review
by Don Williamson for JAZZ REVIEW.COM
 Featured
Artist: Bob DeVos
CD Title: DeVos' Groove Guitar! :: Year: 2003
Record Label: Blues Leaf Records :: Style: Soul / Funk Jazz
Musicians: Bob DeVos (guitar); Gene Ludwig (organ); Billy James
(drums); Emedin (congas, percussion)
DeVos'
Groove Guitar !
JAZZ
REVIEW.COM by DON WILLIAMSON
Guitarist Bob DeVos has been on the jazz scene for decades as he
worked with such luminaries as Sonny Stitt, Jimmy McGriff and Pat
Martino. Recently, he has been a member of Ron McClure’s quartet.
But even as he has remained busy with numerous gigs, his recording
career hasn’t been as active as his talent deserves. Producer Jack
Kreisberg--who has helped Pittsburgh B-3 organist Gene Ludwig receive
belated recognition as well--did something about DeVos’ relatively
low public profile. He called him to the attention Joe Morabia of
the Loose Leaf Records label after Kreisberg heard DeVos performing
at a jazz organ summit set up by WBGO-FM announcer Dorthaan Kirk,
the widow of “Rahsaan” Roland Kirk.
The result is DeVos’ Groove Guitar!, appropriately entitled right
down to the exclamation mark. Not that DeVos’ style consists of
a series of exclamations, for he’s too proficient and low key for
that. Rather, the excitement from DeVos’ playing comes directly
from the groove, which Ludwig helps establish along with drummer
Billy James, who had performed with groove organist Don Patterson
and Sonny Stitt. Indeed, all three musicians have remained dedicated
to the well-known B-3 organ/guitar sound, made famous by the likes
of Jimmy Smith/Quentin Warren or Jack McDuff/George Benson. And
the trio’s interests are in the groove itself, rather than in the
entertaining pyrotechnics sometimes associated with Dr. Lonnie Smith
or the sonic experimentations of Larry Goldings.
Laid back and obviously enjoying themselves, DeVos’ group breezes
through the CD’s 9 tunes selected by DeVos himself based upon his
interest in recording them. Varied from Thelonious Monk’s “Round
Midnight” to Burt Bacharach’s “The Look of Love,” DeVos approaches
all of the music with an ease that invites the listener to enjoy
the music. From the soulful appeal of Curtis Mayfield’s “Prayin’
for Your Return” to the now-famous vamp of Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe
Island,” the trio takes all of the tracks at a medium tempo that
allows for opportunities to stretch out and explore their inherent
melodic possibilities. In spite of the differences in the styles
for which the tunes originally were written, DeVos finds the common
element of groove to link them all. His public awareness relatively
low compared to other recording jazz guitarists, Bob DeVos has remained
steadfast in the essential elements of his style: melodic clarity,
logical solo construction, assured confidence, a ringing tone and
an irresistible groove on his guitar(!). He certainly deserves the
attention that DeVos’ Groove Guitar! will bring him.
Tracks: Tom Thumb, The Look of Love, Driftin’, Prayin’ for Your
Return, The End of a Love Affair, Cantaloupe Island, Round Midnight,
Coming Home Baby, Come Rain or Come Shine Record Label Website:
http://www.bluesleaf.com Artist's Website: http://www.jazzworld.com/bobdevos
Reviewed by Don Williamson for
jazzreview.com
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