Producer and keyboard player Eric Copeland has brought together the very best of Nashville's session musicians for his brainchild excursion into contemporary jazz that he has simply named Player A. In fact the genre is far from being new to this talented collective who also serve as a production team for other jazz artists including Creative Soul Jazz label mate Drew Davidsen. The latest CD from Player A is titled ‘Our Own Devices’ and comprises ten of Copeland’s own compositions plus two well crafted covers. It’s an eclectic body of work that shows off the immense artistry of those involved and in so doing provides several truly outstanding tunes.
‘Our Own Devices’ is quickly up and running with the hard driving ‘Sleekness’ which features sax from Marcus Anderson and, although ‘Talk About It’ has something of an Acoustic Alchemy feel about it, ‘One Step Forward, Two Steps Backward’ proves to be an expansive musical extravaganza that is underpinned by fine orchestral elements.
In terms of cover versions, Copeland’s retro tinged keys are integral to the bands ultra funky take on the Bee Gee’s ‘Staying Alive’ and their edgy version of the Ruthann Friedman composition ‘Windy’ makes this familiar song sound brand new.
Elsewhere the title cut is a moody piece that serves as an excellent showcase for the combined skills of Copeland and guitarist Tom Hemby while ‘Chiller’ is another intensely funky number for which Mark Baldwin on guitar, Gary Lunn on bass and Copeland all play a part. Mark Baldwin is again in splendid form for the inviting vibe of ‘(Hate To Say) I Told Ya So’ while in terms of personal favorites both the easy grooving ‘The Deepest Love’ and ‘Steppin’ (which features nice keys from Copeland and storming bass from Lunn) are right up there. However, best of all is the pleasingly mid tempo ‘Coming On’. The first track to be serviced to radio it features sax from Sam Levine and is sure to do well.
The appropriately titled ‘A Fitting End’ provides a mellow conclusion to ‘Our Own Devices’ and affords Gary Lunn on fretless bass one more chance to shine. It is a reminder, if in fact is one needed, that Nashville is not only one of the last bastions of consistent studio work for quality players but is also home to some serious jazz talent.