With the vocals of Erich Cawalla and Jenifer Kinder at its heart the Philadelphia based Uptown Band is one of the northeast’s most versatile live acts. Now, courtesy of the new CD ‘Waiting For Her’, this tight seven piece collective is about to step out and take its musical ambitions to a whole different audience.
This hugely eclectic mix opens with the first cut slated for radio; the soul tinged ‘You Treated Me Good’ where although the contribution of Cawalla on sax and vocals is significant, the power of The Uptown Band as an ensemble is equally evident. Elsewhere an authentic cover of Eddie Holman’s seminal ‘Hey There Lonely Girl’ is tailor made for the high falsetto to which Cawalla can effortlessly shift while with the timeless ‘That’s All’ he take a nostalgic look back to the fifties and a musical age when romance was still king. The band digs even deeper for the Billie Holiday classic ‘I Cant Get Started’ for which Cawalla on sax is first-rate but such is the variety that ‘Waiting For Her’ provides, the band is quickly back to the present for the R & B flavoured ‘Way Too Good For You’ where hot vocals from Kinder complement another excellent horn arrangement.
The liltingly mid tempo ‘Since I Don’t Have You’ has a warm ‘feel good’ vibe which provides a cool platform for the guitar of Mike Schwartz. Later, when the band slip into instrumental mode the result is the feisty brass enriched title track and the groove remains horn driven for the up tempo ‘Fall Down’ that, in the end, is all about the energy that Cawalla’s fervent vocal delivers.
Percussive and spicy ‘Come Back To Me’ features more nice vocals from Kinder and she is again at the center of everything for the tender yet heartfelt ‘As We Lay’ which includes outstanding piano from the album’s producer Marty Mellinger. Kinder stays in vocal control with a nice interpretation of the Scott Verret composition, the pop tinged ‘I’m Breathless’ but in the final analysis a true Smooth Jazz Therapy favourite is ‘Anthem’ where David Fenwick on piano is magical. In every respect this is a tune in search of a movie score.
‘Waiting For Her’ is an accomplished collection that ably transports the band’s undisputed live prowess to the recording studio. Worth checking out.