CD HOTLIST (August Edition)
Samoa Wilson with the Jim Kweskin Band
I Just Want to Be Horizontal
Kingswood
Since the 1960s, Jim Kweskin has been interested in bringing to light the sounds of early-20th century jazz and pop music. His group is no longer called a “jug band,” gratefully, but he’s still focused on those sounds, and his latest album (which prominently features the outstanding singer Samoa Wilson) features songs both familiar (“Inch Worm,” “Lover Come Back to Me,” “Our Love Is Here to Stay”) and obscure, all played with an elegant, restrained sense of swing. Kweskin adds some lyrics of his own to the Irving Berlin standard “He Ain’t Got Rhythm,” and throughout the album Wilson’s powerful but sweet voice illuminates everything.
