About - Some Kinda Summer

Some Kinda Summer is yet another welcome addition to my collection of Richard Bennett albums. Richard is a highly admired musician and producer whose list of creds and bona fides are longer than the last day of school. What’s even more telling is that he enjoys the respect of his peers. When pros weigh in favorably about one’s talent it speaks volumes. Also, this project employed the trusty birds-of-a-feather aphorism because Mr. Bennett surrounded himself with many of the finest players in the business.

Richard creates real atmosphere and ambience with his compositions. He, like certain composers, to wit, Leroy Anderson and Raymond Scott, creates pictures with his music and virtually any track on this collection could be used in a film score. Some are evocative of a southwestern summer, others a captivating sunset and still others take us back to the fledgling romances of our teenage years.

This collection’s aim was to evoke a summer vibe. That’s true enough although I’m sure you’ll find these tracks can be songs for all seasons. They ride the range from the volcanic upbeat of the feel-good “Kava Keen”, a tune with a driving bass line and sturdy rhythm guitar part that may have you dancing, or certainly wanting to. “The Lure Of Breakers” summons a wonderfully atmospheric mood as does “Our Summer Scene” a song that presents a romantic temperament reminiscent of the 1960s tunes so many infatuated kids of that generation fell in love to.

Richard flexes his steel guitar chops with a smooth and swinging turn on “Debonair”.  It’s a classic.

“Fortune’s Frontier’s” majestic horns yield into a melody that portrays an iconic image of the American southwest. And the solo guitar on the haunting and pensive “Elegia” may very well linger in your psyche. It’s simply gorgeous and one’s imagination can immerse deeply into this track.

And there’s much more including the rocking “Whistlejacket” and the the wistful and ethereal “Beauty and the Beatnik.” But as I’ve previously mentioned, these tunes are all self-descriptive and can be interpreted and enjoyed in so many ways. And that’s the fun of it, whether you’re in a summer state of mind or just engrossed in an introspective evening.

Point is: this collection was not just a labor of love for Richard but a work that reaches across generations and creates a soundtrack for so many to enjoy.

Bravo Richard. You’ve done it again.

Jim Carlton

Author of Conversations with Great Jazz and Studio Guitarists; regular contributor to Vintage Guitar Magazine and columnist for Just Jazz Guitar magazine.