Bristol saxophonist James Morton does something plenty of sax players do if they aren’t obsessed with improvising jazz – he plays vocal-toned, riff-driven soul and funk. But he does it with power and a poetic poignancy creatively drawn from David Sanborn and Eddie Cleanhead Vinson – qualities noted by fellow Bristolian saxophonist Andy Sheppard, who has been a mentor for Morton and guests on one track here. Former James Brown sidemen Pee Wee Ellis and trombonist Fred Wesley effusively power up The Kid’s generic but very lively tracklist of gospel anthems, pumping Crusaders-like dance themes and beseeching James Brownian soul wailers, and local guitarist Denny Ilett catches the irresistibly choppy rhythm-guitar vibe just right. Since this is licks-oriented music, there’s a limited jazz appeal, but Sheppard’s leisurely conversation with Morton on the sunny and laid-back If They Only Knew is delicious, and the leader’s slow and bluesy finale Trouble – with a humming Hammond organ beneath and an unexpected violin payoff – suggests the pacing and dynamics of this set could have been varied a little more without diminishing its considerable sparkle.
