Not every album that
Jack Sheldon recorded in the '90s or 2000s is worth owning, but the veteran trumpeter is in fine form on
It's What I Do. This 74-minute CD was released on
Sheldon's Los Angeles-based Butterfly label in 2007; unfortunately, no recording date is listed. But we do know that
Sheldon turned 76 on November 30, 2007, and it obvious that the veteran trumpeter's chops have held up well over the years.
Sheldon doesn't do any singing on
It's What I Do; the album is totally instrumental, and
Sheldon leads a small acoustic group that is billed as the California Cool Quartet and includes pianist
Joe Bagg, bassist
Bruce Lett, and drummer
Dick Weller.
Sheldon excels throughout the bop/cool jazz disc, embracing well-known standards by
Thelonious Monk ("Well, You Needn't"),
Charlie Parker ("Yardbird Suite," "Steeplechase") and
John Coltrane ("Naima") as well as
Billy Strayhorn ("Chelsea Bridge").
Sheldon also includes no less than four standards that were written or co-written by
Miles Davis ("Milestones," "Freddy Freeloader," "Four," and "Seven Steps to Heaven"), and the inclusion of so many
Davis gems is highly appropriate given that
Davis was among
Sheldon's early influences as a trumpeter. It would have been nice if
Sheldon hadn't favored such an all-warhorses-all-the-time policy on this album and surprised us with some gems that haven't been beaten to death over the years; regardless,
It's What I Do is impressively consistent. There are no weak moments on this rewarding, if predictable, addition to
Sheldon's catalog.
–
Alex Henderson, Rovi