Frank Macchia
Son of Folk Songs For Jazzers
Cacophony Records
www.frankmacchia.net
By George W. Harris

Without a single doubt, saxophonist/composer/arranger Frank Macchia has got more musical ideas flying around than almost any 2-3 other artists. He’s done albums based on animal sounds, sonic landscapes, and, of course, his last disc of jazz readings of American folk tunes. As with all of his other concepts, his first ones always deserve an encore disc, and so here is the “Godfather II” version of his last success.

It’s just hard to beat his clever arrangements. Two, yes two completely different readings of “Three Blind Mice” that feature solos by LA standard bearers Tom Ranier/p and grant Geissman/g. The musical scenery changes as quickly as a Universal Studio tour, with “Cindy/Li’l Liza Jane” and “Twinkle Twinkle” covering more ground than a Boeing 747. Tierney Sutton and Ellis Hall deliver the goods on an eerie “Silver Dagger” and lonesome “Careless Love” respectively, while Macchia needs to keep the tenor in his mouth instead of singing on “This Old Man.” Besides that one burp, this disc is another winner. He hits Vitellos’s Restaurant periodically, so check out the sounds in concert.