New Release From Guitarist-Composer Greg Chako, Standard Roots

Guitarist Greg Chako’s 17th CD, Standard Roots, contains over 72 minutes of music, with additional ‘bonus tracks’ on the digital version of the album.

Standard Roots represents a return to what Greg Chako calls his “roots,” because it features the trio format of guitar, bass, and drums that he began his professional playing career with over 30 years ago.

Standards are the feature here, but Greg alternates the time feels of each track between Swing, Latin, and Ballad. Typical swingers like Just Friends, and bossa-novas like Jobim’s Triste are interpreted as expected, where as a couple old standbys like Out of Nowhere and It Might as Well Be Spring are given a fresh, upbeat Latin treatment. Besides the songs typically considered as being from The Great American Songbook, there is a blues: Cedar Walton’s “Cedar’s Blues,” and two modern jazz compositions: “Solar” by Chuck Wayne, and “Beatrice” by Sam Rivers (one of the bonus tracks). Other stand-outs not heard so often are Alec Wilders’ “I’ll be Around” and Arlens’ “Ill Wind.”

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