The Odd Get Even: The Odd Get Even
Added: August 14th 2010
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
The Odd Get Even is a project consisting of Bill Ray (drums) and Bill Cornish
(keyboards, percussion). Cornish has opened for the likes of Kansas, Pat Travers,
Joan Jett, The Romantics plus many more and has released several solo albums.
Ray has toured with the celebrated Ike Turner and has played at the prominent
Montreux Jazz Summit in Switzerland. His 2007 album Risin' With The Blues was a
recipient of a Grammy Award and he also has many albums credited to his name.
The Odd Get Even mix the sounds of jazz, funk and fusion and have created a
highly enjoyable album.
The album started out as improvised drum tracks upon which Cornish worked his keyboard
magic. He is an excellent player and is able to generate a myriad of sounds both vintage
and modern. At times the keyboards really pop reminding me of Fagan's keyboard work with
Steely Dan and although the music here is quite a bit different than that band there is a
smoothness to the band's sound that makes this album go down nice and easy.
The jazzy opener "Esperanto" features plenty of skillful keyboard work and the funky bass
lines of guest musician Christopher Michael Hale. The next track "Kinetics" carries an
element of, dare I say it, disco, particularly in the keyboards. It is totally 70s retro
but quite endearing never the less. Violin keyboard sounds dominate the melodic smooth
jazz of "Eccentric Circles" before the song slows down and jazzy piano noodling emerges
out of the pulsating rhythms. "Attention Deficit" is tinged with a subtle Eastern melody
and the drumming of Bill Ray is very good. "On the Run" and "Iconoclast" both feature
xylophone keyboards with the former having a funky bass groove and the latter a subtle
reggae beat. The album ends with "Psychlone" with its spacey intro and fine keyboard
display.
The Odd Get Even is a solid album and should appeal to fans of jazz and fusion. I really
liked it and I hope you will too.
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