Paul Bollenback - Soul Grooves (2021)

When you undertake to perform popular songs in a jazz style, you have to walk a very thin line: how to leave the song recognizable without making the arrangements sound like Muzak? Some artists solve the problem by not worrying about recognition; they treat the song melody like any other jazz head, and if you happen to notice that the head is "Heartbreak Hotel," then good for you. Guitarist Paul Bollenback prefers to walk the line. Accompanied by the top-notch rhythm section of organist Joey DeFrancesco and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts (as well as assorted horn players and a tabla player), he delivers a program of soul and R&B classics, beginning and ending with Stevie Wonder songs ("Too High" and "Visions") and including such other chestnuts as Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay" and Ashford & Simpson's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." The results are consistently pleasing, and sometimes surprising -- "Dock of the Bay" is taken at a startlingly brisk tempo with funky drums stuttering underneath; "My Girl" is played with a broad sense of swing, to nice effect. Bollenback's style isn't terribly distinctive (he spends a lot of time on Montgomery-esque octave runs), but his playing is always excellent. The album's sole disappointment is the goopy solo acoustic arrangement of "Visions" that closes the program. ~ Rick Anderson