Live at the Floating Jazz Festival [Live]

Live at the Floating Jazz Festival [Live]

Editorial Reviews
From Jazziz
In the absence of Stephane Grappelli, Ray Nance, and Stuff Smith, 83-year-old frigo is nothing short of a violin icon. Which is not to say that he is anything of a museum piece. His work during this Caribbean jazz cruise is soulful and swinging. For the uninitiated, Frigo's playing will invite inevitable comparisons with Grappelli. True, both have a buoyant joy to their music, especially on rhythm numbers. Frigo, however, has a reservoir of Gypsy melancholia (particularly on ballads or verses) that is not to be found in the Frenchman's music. When Frigo navigates emotionally through "The Man I Love" on a Gershwin medley, handkerchiefs all over the ship must have been pressed into service. The hell-bent fiddling on "Strike up the Band" is a reminder that Frigo spent years on a country-music radio show. The last tune elicits some delightfully surprising chord choices from pianist Joe Vito. Although a live set on a jazz cruise carries a certain la prima quality to it, Frigo, Vito, bassist Larry Gary, and drummer Rick Frigo hang loose with a cohesive, tensile strength usually found in longtime aggregations. Frigo the Younger, accompanies his dad with imaginative taps and tones worthy of an AACM percussionist on "My Foolish Heart." Like Frigo the Elder, Vito wears his heart on his musical sleeve, and his playing on "It Might as Well Be Spring" is quite evocative. Vibraphonist Terry Gibbs sits in on the uptempo closer, "Lester Leaps In." Although Gibbs can be overly busy elsewhere, he shows uncharacteristic restraint here and contributes some interesting background figures to Frigo's solo. The breakneck quality of the tune shows that age has nothing to do with musical velocity.

Live at the Floating Jazz Festival,Johnny Frigo,Chiaroscuro Records,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,Swing

Jazz Music: Live at the Floating Jazz Festival [Live]

Jazz Music: