It Is What It Is

Rate It! Avg: 4.5 (12 ratings)
It Is What It Is album cover
Album Information

Total Tracks: 9   Total Length: 51:17

Write a Review 1 Member Review

Please register before you review a release. Register

user avatar

Great stuff

scoman03

I heard Melvin Sparks on our NPR channel in Denver (KUVO 89.3, great jazz station) and had to find out more about this group. What a pleasant surprise this title gives. Rock solid from start to finish. OK, maybe a problem with "sameness" in the work, but that still can't hurt this work much. Great work by all the musicians and some of the best up-tempo, funk-jazz music being done today. Download this quickly and enjoy. I guarantee this will keep you smiling for awhile. PS..great summertime party disc to boot!

Recommended Albums

They Say All Music Guide

Guitarist Melvin Sparks keeps 1970s-style funky soul-jazz alive on this set, which is filled with catchy grooves, fine ensemble playing, and soulful solos. Heading a quartet that features tenor saxophonist Joe Herbek (Cochemea Gastalim takes his place on “Charlie Brown”), organist Jeremy Baum (replaced by Adam Scone on two numbers), and drummer Eric Kalb, Sparks performs likable and very danceable music. The one fault to the date is the sameness of much of the R&B-ish material (the guitarist wrote five of the nine selections), but this CD is excellent for parties and as infectious background music. – Scott Yanow