Randy Napoleon - Rust Belt Roots: Randy Napoleon Plays Wes Montgomery, Grant Green & Kenny Burrell (2021)

Guitarist Randy Napoleon cut his teeth in the clubs of Detroit and throughout the midwest in the mid-nineties, only realizing after his move to New York how much his musical identity and values were forged by that scene. The jazz masters that still populate the region swing with uncompromising commitment, deeply steeped in the Blues and the language of Bebop. His years touring and recording with Freddie Cole, Benny Green, Michael Bublé and the Clayton Hamilton Orchestra only solidified his own position in that rich legacy, and with Rust Belt Roots, anchors that position through this celebration of the musical voices who led his way. With two quartets of mentors and now long-time colleagues - Rodney Whitaker, Rick Roe, Sean Dobbins, Paul Keller, Xavier Davis and Quincy Davis - Napoleon brings together the spirit and tunes of a region, offering another chapter to a story that's still being written.