The multi-colored musical palate of keyboardist Tobin Mueller has the five volume “Best Of” coming to a mellow close, with this 26 song collection focusing on music to “chill” by. Mueller not only switches between various keyboards, bass, percussion and voice, but he mixes and matches them with Woody Mankowski/voc-ss-ts, Doug Schneider/ts, Ron Carter-Jeff Cox-Kenny Cash/b, Mike Martel/fh-tp, Fran Dagostino/g, Rubende Ruiter/perc Dane Richeson-Mike Nappi-Ugo Rossi/dr and Chris Mueller/p for a wide range of creative contemplations.
There’s a bit of Boz Scaggs in the warm vocals for a clever mix of “America/Peace Peace” , with a folksy feel to Bob Dylan’s “Shelter From The Storm” and a gently intimate “Danny Boy” with voice and piano serving as cozy guests. Carter’s bass resonates with a resounding blue pulse with Mankowski’s soulful alto on “Come In Funky” and is slinky with Mueller’s keys on “Falling Trough The Clouds”. Martel’s trumpet is lovely and lonely framed in piano and synth for “First Contact” while “Blue Summertime” melds two Tin Pan Alley classics into a reflective rumble. A mix of electronic ambience and Debussy’d piano is quite fragrant on the show tune “Where Is Love”, and “Stardust” is resplendent with Makowski’s soprano floating and hovering around Mueller’s spacious keys.
The rich mix of jazz standards, originals and creative covers makes for an additional color of glass to put into Mueller’s rich mosaic of a catalogue. Who is he going to tour with? I’m getting in line!