A good soundtrack that never was
11/15/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"in this seventh installment of mr. marsalis' "swingin' into the 21st century" series, we find a great sweep of southern americana: jazz, appalachian, gospel, swing, etc. mr. marsalis' skill as a composer is primarily on display, although he does play trumpet on several of the tracks. as i listened to the album, i felt like i was on a gentle tour of a small town, kind of like my hometown in the foothills of north carolina. there's an easy swing to most of the album, relaxed, like the pace used to be most of the time. there are glimpses of the mountains in the folk songs, church in the choir piece and gospel songs, city midnight blues ("fire in the night"), and the bustle of life in general ("gossipin' hens"). encased by two versions of "rosewood" it feels like a sunday drive. i don't know anything about the movie "rosewood" nor why this wasn't used as the soundtrack, but that doesn't diminish the enjoyment of the album. the only gripe is the soundtrack format, nothing really gets developed to its fullest potential. still, a good effort."