Introducing Kendall Carter
Lladnek, 2021
9/10
Listen to Introducing Kendall Carter
You may not have heard of Kendall Carter before, but this Midwest jazz organ wizard is quickly making a names for himself, and here he’s aligned with the great Dave Stryker and Indianapolis drummer Kenny Phelps for an impressive debut solo album.
The appropriately titled “Blame It On The Boogie” starts the listen with warm organ, frisky drumming and smooth guitar work guiding a very enticing climate, and “Afro Blue” follows with a very adventurous and melodic jazz spirit where Carter’s finger acrobatics are nothing short of fascinating.
The middle of the listen brings us the soft and reflective “Lawns”, where the trio turn in a slow burning interpretation of the Carla Bley tune, while the bouncy climate of “Speedball” is both cautious and exploratory as it showcases meticulous drumming from Phelps. “Beatrice”, a late album highlight, then benefits much from Stryker’s soothing guitar work as Carter’s precise organ takes nods to pop and blues.
“That’s All” and “Blues For Kendall” round out the listen, where the former injects an almost gospel feel amid a dreamy delivery, and the latter emits so much rhythm it’s nearly impossible to keep your body from moving to the grooves and animated landscape where all 3 musicians showcase their tremendous skills.
As far as first albums go, it rarely gets better than this. Carter executes like a seasoned vet and as he’s clearly setting up for a lengthy and exceptional career that’s starting off on a very high note.
Travels well with: Dave Stryker- Baker’s Circle; Jared Gold- Reemergence