Rhodes Spedale Trio, Snug Harbor Sessions (Jazz Vignette)

Attorney Rhodes Spedale has been playing jazz piano in hotels and restaurants around New Orleans since the 1960s, giving him the opportunity to work with some greats like Pud Brown, James Black, Red Tyler, David Lastie and Alvin Thomas. This double-CD set captures him live at Snug Harbor, once in 1994 with drummer David Hansen and bassist Al Bernard, and once in 1996 with drummer Richard Taylor and bassist Ed Wise. They play mostly jazz standards like “Stella By Starlight,” “Summertime,” “Old Folks,” “My Funny Valentine” and “What Is This Thing Called Love,” along with a few Spedale originals like “S’Mardi Gras,” “He Ain’t Got No Rhythm” and “Blues For Hampton.” Many of the songs transition into other well worn chestnuts. “Lover Man,” for example, for a stretch becomes “God Bless The Child.” Much of the music is pleasant and innocuous. Not surprisingly, it has the feel of background music in a hotel lounge, which, while functional, lacks the transcendence required of stimulating jazz.