Combo
(Antoinette Music Producers)
Just imagine six talented veteran musicians circling a piano in a Toronto recording studio, performing 11 jazz classics live off the floor. With `Combo’, that’s exactly what you get when famed Blood Sweat & Tears vocalist, David Clayton-Thomas joins forces with pianist, Matt Kieswetter, bassist George Koller, guitarist Ted Quinlan, percussionist Ben Riley and tenor & alto saxophonist Colleen Allen to record a memorable session that has resulting in this fascinating recording. Clayton-Thomas is a legendary blues/r&b performer in his own right yet stripping away the big brass BS&T sound for a rudimentary jazz combo only serves to enhance his vocal talents. To hear him tackle nuggets such as “As Time Goes By”, “Smile”, “When I Fall in Love”, Billie Holliday’s “God Bless the Child and “Summertime” is to tune into a class artist giving his own distinctive vocal talents to a set list of memorable songs. Yet he still allows pianist Matt Kieswetter, in particular, to stretch out with his own tasty solos, especially on “Summertime” and “As Time Goes By” while Allen leaves her 
distinctive mark on tracks like “When I Fall In Love”and Quinlan gets to play some tasty guitar licks on “Nature Boy”. Add to this a tasty vocal duet between Clayton-Thomas and Jackie Richardson on Allan Toussaint’s “Freedom for the Stallion” and an equally strong vocal connection between Clayton-Thomas and newcomer Genevieve Marentette on the funky, New Orleans-piano inspired “The Glory of Love”. Produced by Koller and Clayton-Thomas at Toronto’s Number 9 Audio Group, `Combo’ serves as an inspired collaboration between a select group of gifted artists delivering a classically interpretive performance.
Download: “God Bless The Children”, “Smile”, “As Time Goes By”
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