PAT TRAVERS - “Swing!” - (Cleopatra, ‘19, Canada)
What a refreshing piece of music this is! PAT TRAVERS’ last album was the ripping, snarling hard rock lead guitar explosion of “Retro Rocket,” arguably the heaviest album of his career. This time he gives way more than a nod to his love of ‘40’s big band & jazz music by dusting off 8 great standards from back in those days and giving them the PT treatment.
Mostly instrumental (2 songs feature vocals), PAT tackles the numbers either in his usual guitar-bass-drums format or with the scintillating accompaniment of keys & a blistering horn section.
I know a few other luminaries like BRIAN SETZER & JOE JACKSON have paid tribute to this style of music. “Swing!” is special to me, though, because it features one of my guitar gods playing some of my Dad’s favorite music...music that he shared with me as a gateway to my own burgeoning hobby as a kid. Especially emotional for me in this regard is the version of GLENN MILLER’s “In The Mood” on offer here, a tune near the top of Tony Dorsey’s playlist at all times.
--Ray Dorsey
