5610 - JEFF GOLUB With BRIAN AUGER - Train Keeps A Rolling (2013)
JEFF GOLUB WITH BRIAN AUGER
''TRAIN KEEPS A ROLLING''
AUGUST 13 2013
47:40
1 /The Cat
Lalo Schifrin/3:18
2 /Isola Natale
Brian Auger/4:19
3 /Train Keeps A Rolling
Jeff Golub / Chris Palmaro/3:39
4 /I Love the Life I Live
Willie Dixon/5:12
5 /Pusherman
Curtis Mayfield/4:43
6 /How Long
Paul Carrack/3:54
7 /J&B
Jeff Golub / Chris Palmaro/3:32
8 /Happiness Is Just Around the Bend
Brian Auger/4:42
9 /Shepherds Bush Market
Brian Auger/4:02
10 /Whenever You're Ready
Barry Dean/4:33
11 /Walking on the Moon
The String/5:46
Mindi Abair /Sax (Alto)
Brian Auger /Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3
Luis Conte /Percussion
Christopher Cross /Vocals
Steve Ferrone /Drums
Derek Frank /Bass
Jeff Golub /Guitar
Nick Lane /Arranger, Trombone
Steve Madaio /Trumpet
David Pack /Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals
Steve Sykes /Guitar
Dave Woodford /Flute, Sax (Baritone)
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
That guitarist Jeff Golub was able to record Train Keeps A Rolling at all is something of a miracle. In 2011, the optic nerves in the guitarist's eyes mysteriously and inexplicably collapsed, leaving him blind and in need of a guard dog. In September of 2012, while trying to catch the subway in New York, Golub fell onto the tracks as a train was approaching. He was clipped and dragged for a distance, but amazingly, other than cuts and bruises, he was unhurt. This makes the occasion of his 12th studio offering a special one. To mark it, his longtime co-producer Bud Harner suggested that he collaborate with one of his personal heroes, British keyboard giant Brian Auger. They enlisted drummer Steve Ferrone from Auger's Oblivion Express and bassist Derek Frank, who had also worked with the keyboardist. Various tracks are augmented by guests, including a four-piece horn section, percussionist Luis Conte, and vocalists Christopher Cross, Ambrosia's David Pack, and Alex Ligertwood (former Oblivion Express and Santana frontman). The program opens with a bright, funky reading of Lalo Schifrin's "The Cat" that accents the intuitive interplay between the B-3 and Golub's guitar playing. There are three Auger compositions too, including a new reading of the slinky jazz-rock nugget "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" with Ligertwood reprising his Oblivion Express vocal role. More outstanding are the punchy, horn-drenched funk of "Shepherds Bush Market," which Auger wrote specifically for the date, and the previously unissued "Isola Natale," with its jazzy Latin groove. Pop rears its head in a sophisticated read of Paul Carrack's "How Long," beautifully sung by Cross, and ramped up soul-jazz appears in an instrumental take on Curtis Mayfield's iconic "Pusherman," with a terrific horn chart and a monster B-3 solo. Golub shines throughout, but particularly on the ironically dubbed title track, which commences as a frenetic tropical salsa before giving way to steamy, Latin-fused jazz-rock. The only weak spots here are in the workmanlike version of the Police's "Walking on the Moon" and the Mose Allison-influenced read of Willie Dixon's "I Love the Life I Live"; both could have been left off without consequence. By and large, however, Train Keeps A Rolling is proof positive that you can't keep a great musician down; it is inspired, kinetic, and chock-full of fine playing and arranging.
BIOGRAPHY
by Alex Henderson
In the '90s, guitarist Jeff Golub's blend of jazz, R&B, and pop earned him a reputation for being one of the edgier, more tasteful players in the crossover jazz/NAC/smooth jazz field. Although some of Golub's recordings were played on smooth jazz stations extensively, he was quoted as saying that he refuses to play outright elevator music, and to be sure, Golub's solos give the impression that he is essentially a soul-jazz improviser at heart. The Ohio native (whose influences have included Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Lee Ritenour, and Larry Carlton, among others) is quite capable of playing straight-ahead bop; he certainly has the chops for it. However, Golub chose to focus on more commercial music and has a long résumé as a rock, pop, and R&B session player. He appreciates being compared to artists like David Sanborn, the Crusaders, Ronnie Laws, Joe Sample, and the late Grover Washington, Jr.; that is, instrumentalists who can be commercial and groove-oriented but still have a jazz improviser's mentality.
Golub was born on April 15, 1955, in Akron, Ohio, where he grew up listening to a variety of R&B, funk, blues, jazz, pop, and rock and began playing guitar as a pre-adolescent. In the '70s, Golub moved away from Akron to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. But by 1980, he had relocated again, this time to New York City, where he was still residing 23 years later. It was in the early '80s that Golub was hired to back arena rock/hard rock star Billy Squier, and that association led to a lot of other session work. The list of major rock or R&B artists Golub backed in the '80s or '90s (either in the studio or on-stage) includes Tina Turner, John Waite, Vanessa Williams, Ashford & Simpson, Dar Williams, and former J. Geils Band vocalist Peter Wolf. In 1988, Golub was hired to back Rod Stewart, an association that lasted for eight years; 1988 was also the year in which Golub's first album as a leader, Unspoken Words, was released by the Gaia label, but at that point, he was still devoting most of his time to backing other artists.
It wasn't until 1994, when Golub founded the band Avenue Blue, that playing as a leader became the guitarist's main activity. That year, Golub signed with Mesa/Bluemoon, and Avenue Blue's self-titled debut album of 1994 fared well in the smooth jazz/NAC market. Two more Avenue Blue projects were released by Mesa/Bluemoon -- Naked City in 1996 and Nightlife in 1997 -- but after that, he put the name Avenue Blue to rest. While Avenue Blue, Naked City, and Nightlife had been billed as "Avenue Blue featuring Jeff Golub," 1999's Out of the Blue on Atlantic was billed as strictly Jeff Golub. After that, Golub moved to GRP/Verve, which released Dangerous Curves in 2000, Do It Again in 2002, and Soul Sessions in 2003. A few years later, Golub made yet another move, releasing Temptation on Narada in 2005. Grand Central followed in 2007. In 2009, Golub returned to his '80s rock roots, with the electric blues album Blues for You showcasing vocals from such old pals as Billy Squier, Peter Wolf, and John Waite. In 2011, his band cut The Three Kings with New Orleans piano legend Henry Butler. In 2011 the optic nerves in Golub's eyes, inexplicably collapsed, leaving him blind and requiring a guide dog. In September of 2012, while attempting to catch the subway in New York City, he fell onto the tracks as a train was approaching. He was clipped and dragged by the train as bystanders tried to help. Amazingly, other than cuts and bruises, he was unharmed. Undaunted, the guitarist recorded a collaborative album with British keyboard legend Brian Auger, ironically entitled The Train Keeps A-Rollin'. The set was released in the summer of 2013.
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