Straight Ahead Soul
(Paul Carr Music)

Veteran Houston-born saxophone Paul Carr says his objective is to reach the “soulful essence of jazz”, and he achieves just that on his latest recording, Straight Ahead Soul. The title describes quite well the feel of the album. In this effort, Carr is mostly featured on the soprano saxophone and the interplay between it and Bobby Broom’s guitar makes the songs as interesting, as they are enjoyable. The project also includes the great talents of Lewis Nash on drums, Allyn Johnson on piano, Michael Bowie on bass, Sam Turner on various percussion and Chelsea Green on viola, with singer Lori Williams contributing coda vocals to one of the tunes. The combination of these talents and Carr’s very warm and inviting sound make this an excellent recording.