Subject to Change Without Notice (Abstract Logix, 2013)
If all you guitar fanatics haven’t gotten the memo, guitarist Jimmy Herring has a new recording, Subject to Change Without Notice, out on the Abstract Logix label. For those of you not in the know and might need a little convincing, Mr. Herring was a founding member of Col Bruce Hampton and The Aquarium Rescue Unit, Frogwings, did a stint with Jazz is Dead, collaborated with Phil Lesh, did another stint with The Other Ones, founded Project Z and later joined Widespread Panic after the death of guitarist Mike Houser.
With credits on such recordings as Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Calling, Out of the Madness, Blue Light Rain, Croakin’ at Toad’s, Project Z, Endangered Species, Free Somehow, Dirty Side Down and the solo recording Lifeboat, Mr. Herring is perhaps best known for his career in rock music, but he’s equally enthusiastic about dipping into jazz, jazz fusion and instrumental rock. And, hey, he also plays the saxophone.
Subject to Change Without Notice is good…super-duper good…okay, I might have drooled a little. Guest artists like Bill Evans, Bela Fleck, Tyler Greenwell, Carter Herring, John Keane, Nicky Sanders and Ike Stubblefield just might clue listeners into the plummy fabulousness contained on Subject to Change Without Notice.
Opening with the Django Reinhardt inspired “Red Wing Special,” Mr. Herring and company dazzle with the up-tempo number with Etienne Mbapple and fiddler Nicky Sanders get a fair number of sassy licks in. Subject to Change just gets better with the wide open sky feel of “Kaleidoscope Carousel” that’s kicked up a notch by Mr. Herring on guitar and Matt Slocum on organ.
Other goodies include “Aberdeen” with Ike Stubblefield on organ, a twangy version George Harrison’s “Within You, Without You” with cello provided by Carter Herring and the deliciously funky “Miss Poopie” with Mr. Stubblefield on organ that is so good that even the most reluctant will be trying to find their smooth moves.
On “Emerald Garden” Mr. Herring pulls out the acoustic guitar to Mr. Keane’s lanky lines on the pedal steel. Listeners get a jazz fix with “12 Keys” and a healthy dose of Bill Evans on tenor saxophone, as well as Carter Herring on cello, John Keane on pedal steel, Etienne Mbapple on bass, Jeff Sipe on drums and Matt Slocum on keys in addition to Mr. Herring on “Hope.”
Perhaps my favorite is the kicky “Curfew” with Bela Fleck playing banjo. Subject to Change closes with the bluesy, jazzy, funk of “Bilgewater Blues” that positively reeks of kickass goodness.
Threaded through with Mr. Herring’s richly wrought guitar licks, Subject to Change Without Notice is smart, stylish and striking, effortlessly tugging the lines of rock, jazz, blues, funk and Americana and weaving the lot into something hopelessly delicious.