Seleno Clarke

Harlem keyboard king Seleno Clarke goes all out to showcase his live chops in this sophomore release recorded live at Smoke New York. This is a burning B3 session with the cream of New York's session crop on his roster: Eric Alexander, Jim Rotondi, Rodney Jones, and Peter Bernstein, just to name a few members of this jam band orchestra of 12. Groove jazz sessions always work best in front of an audience and this crew burned down the house on a program of select Clarke originals and jazz standards that leave the listener gasping. From "Harlem Groove," which opens the disc, through to Bunny Berigan's classic "I Can't Get Started" to "Moonlight in Vermont" to "Ain't No Woman Like the One I Got," Clarke shows his diverse reading of the jazz canon as authoritative and swinging. All the soloists get to stretch out, but Clarke is firm at reigning in the tune. When he slows the pace just before the end on "Misty," the entire joint goes silent and is nearly awestruck by the great empathy and tenderness in his own solo break. But given that this is full jam-session mode, the grooves dictate the material and Clarke packs his performances full of them. Hot, sweaty, and funky as hell, this is a winner top to bottom. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide