Veteran jazzman Scott Hamilton has never really followed the crowd, and that’s good for us. On his latest work, Across the Tracks (Concord Music Group) the prolific Hamilton—over 30 albums since 1977 most with Concord—teams up with friend and occasional playing partner Duke Robillard to create mellowed out yet vibrant jazz in the swing style which, popular or no at any given time, Hamilton never abandons. It’s perfect late Saturday night jazz, but what makes the album great is that it sounds just as good backing Sunday brunch—and that is no small compliment.
Hamilton has stuck to swing jazz for his entire career, never feeling the need to explore other more experimental or expansive forms of jazz. And his devotion to the swing style of playing—he’s a tenor saxophonist in the tradition of Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young—makes itself obvious even to the casual listener here's a man who is solidly grounded and coolly confident, even cocky, in his playing.
The extraordinary chemistry between Hamilton and Robillard is what makes Across the Tracks such a fine jazz outing. The veteran Hamilton allows Robillard free reign to punctuate the music—mostly traditional jazz tunes—and round it out: either heat it up slightly or, deftly, cool it down with his multi-varied styles of playing. Known principally as a blues guitarist, Robillard does indeed “do” the blues here, but he also gives Across the Tracks a nice acerbic vibe where necessary.
Across the Tracks is a fine disc from an artist who has produced many over his career. With the addition of Robillard, Across the Tracks is one of this year’s few “must have” jazz works. Add to Robillard the work of the magical, and magically legendary, sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder and you have what amounts to one of this year’s finest jazz releases.
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