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November/December 2006 BOB MALONE Blazing and beautiful. Burning and elegant. Subtle and expansive. Unique and timeless. Malone contains multitudes of rhythm, soul, jazz, blues, smoke and magic. He is the train that never stops, the one that won’t be derailed. He was astounding when he first emerged, but there was a sense that he was too young to bear the timeworn, world-weary baggage of the rhythm & ragtime & blues. Now his voice has ripened, and his talent has deepened. He’s a pianist’s pianist; it sounds as if he’s slept inside a baby grand for years, so intimate is he with the alphabet of the ivories. “The whole wide world is moving way too fast/And Lord knows I ain’t no exception,” he sings in “The Age Of Steam,” yet his songs deconstruct the tumult of time. In many he laughs in his smoky, hipster hat like a seasoned jazz cat from another era. “The Stripper” and “Steam” are both sublime, as is Jake Jacobs’ eloquent and restrained production job. This is one for the ages. – PAUL ZOLLO
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