Jazz guitarist Rick Whitehead's new solo album, "Notes from Home," was mixed from master tracks he recorded at his home studio. While many artists have gained strength and a new sense of perspective from home recordings, Whitehead has suffered slightly because of it.
While the lightly swinging style that Whitehead has been known for over the years is intact, there is no strong bass line to keep the album from being anything except solid and unspectacular jazz. The deep and cutting nature of his virtuosity is somewhat muted for some reason and the album is at times a little directionless.
Despite this, "Notes from Home" has its heart in the right place. The fast-paced "Have You Met Miss Jones" and "Blues in the Attic," in particular, make fairly complex lyrical statements. However, the absence of anything remotely jarring in his blues riffs leaves more to be desired. In the end it is the fusion of spirited Parisian jazz with paper-thin blues that saves the album from mediocrity.
Whitehead is a talented musician both live and on recordings. While "Notes from Home" is in the end a successful effort, it doesn't match up as strongly to the artist's previous work.
