Chestnut's sparkling Fender Rhodes shines throughout, and Veal really shows his versatility on both electric and acoustic bass. And even more surprising is that it's not one of those aforementioned knockoffs; it's a heavyweight jazz session with James Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, and Reginald Veal, three of jazz's finest players on their respective instruments (rounded out by the talented Ali Jackson on drums). Carter was born in Detroit, Michigan, and learned to play under the tutelage of Donald Washington, becoming a member of his youth jazz ensemble Bird-Trane-Sco-NOW!! He first toured Europe (Scandinavia) with the International Jazz Band in 1985 at the age of 16. Carter and Company play to those strengths as a unit, and Gold Sounds is an overwhelming success, not just as a tribute but as a jazz album. Electric Lady Land Studio B, New York, NY. Remember, underneath their slacker image and loose, lo-fi aesthetic, Pavement's best tunes were memorable and melodic with interesting (though sometimes ramshackle) arrangements. With judicious overdubs, Carter adds a second tenor and Chestnut comps on Hammond organ while soloing on Rhodes (and check out Carter's percussive comping). You may be asking, "what the hell are a bunch of jazzbos doing playing Pavement tunes?" "Cut Your Hair" is slowed way down with more great Rhodes/Hammond work and Carter's soulful soprano. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
Jesse Davis (3), David "Fathead" Newman, Ron Carter, Christian McBride, Tyrone Clark, Don Byron, Russell Malone, Mark Whitfield, Victor Lewis, Geri Allen, Cyrus Chestnut, James Carter (3), Craig Handy, David Murray, Joshua Redman, Curtis Fowlkes, Clark Gayton, Olu Dara, Nicholas Payton, James Zollar, Kevin Mahogany - Robert Altman's Jazz '34 - Remembrances Of Kansas City Swing ‎ (DVD-V, All) The set closes with a rousing solo piano version of "Trigger Cut." If you're a Pavement fan, you owe it to yourself to check out what these guys do with the songbook.

As a young man, Carter attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, becoming the youngest faculty member at the camp. There were passages in the program, especially during pieces such as Joe Henderson’s “Recorda Me,” in which Carter played with a surprisingly soft and tender sound, his improvisations filled with subtle melodic paraphrases. James Carter is hands down one of the greatest reedmen alive: he can play it tender or can summon squalls on his instruments that rival electric guitars. The short answer, "making a great album." If you're a jazz fan, forget that these tunes come from the world of indie rock; in the hands of Carter and Chestnut, they might as well be undiscovered standards. Toward the end, they kick it into high gear by upping the tempo for the outro. Given the glut of "String Quartet Tribute to So and So," "Electronic Tribute to Some Crappy Band," and "Pickin' on Whomever" "tributes," it's somewhat surprising that no one has tackled Pavement in a tribute album -- not until now, at any rate. "Blue Hawaiian" is built on the same smooth bassline, and Chestnut sends his Rhodes through a Leslie speaker to great effect as Carter tears it up on tenor and Jackson dances around the beat. As a group, the entire band is locked into each other and the tunes (just listen to the tradeoffs between tenor, Rhodes, and drums as Veal holds the groove on "Stereo"), which generally don't depart drastically from the original arrangements beyond the instrumentation. Given the glut of "String Quartet Tribute to So and So," "Electronic Tribute to Some Crappy Band," and "Pickin' on Whomever" "tributes," it's somewhat surprising that no one has tackled Pavement in a tribute album -- not until now, at any rate. "Summer Babe" is one of several highlights, with great electric bass and soulful playing.