Photograph from AllAboutJazz.com
Nat Janoff’s guitar sounds pretty good on a leisure listen; it’s downright revelatory on closer listen. His single line runs are so brisk, clean and vibrant, the notes feel like 3-D for the ears. Janoff took an unusual route to get that perfect tone and phrasing: he started on piano, then bass, and then finally was turned on to the guitar…by Eddie Van Halen. Thereafter he became a shredder but longed for a platform for more extended improvisation and that’s when jazz entered his life. This second solo release of his, Come Together Move Apart, finds him in great company with Francois Moutin on bass, Chris Carroll on drums and SER 2011 Best Of winner John Escreet on piano. Janoff is also a terrific composer, and these nine originals have great harmonies, like the soulful “For Now,” the shifty bop “Shorter Days” and the twisting, funky “Partly Cloudy.” There are even a few, discreet hints of Janoff’s Marshall amp days, as on “Transit,” but it all stays well within the jazz vibe.
Come Together Move Apart was self-released back in September, 2010, but still worth shouting about a year and half later. Visit Nat Janoff’s website.
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