Tony Adamo SoulTracks

[Tony Adamo]

"Tony Adamo knows and reveres the history of jazz, blues, soul and funk. The long time Bay Area artist also knows about the beat poets such as Ginsburg and Kerouac and is familiar with Black Arts poets such as The Last Poets and Gil-Scot Heron. Both the beats and the Black Arts poets fused spoken word with music – mainly jazz, although the Black Arts poets also used soul and funk music and served as a bridge to hip hop.

Adamo’s latest project, Miles of Blu, employs music backed spoken word to honor some of his musical heroes while also giving listeners a musical history lesson and a little political commentary to boot. Miles of Blu is an ambitious but uneven project that is more notable for its virtues than for its misses.

Anyone honoring Hammond B3 organ legends such as Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff and Joey DeFrancesco is doing a public service. That tune, “Funkin’ At the Chickin’ Shack,” is an homage to Smith’s 1960 album “Back at the Chicken Shack” – a soul jazz classic. The cut encapsulates Miles of Blu’s main asset: uniformly excellent musicianship. This is also one of the tunes where Adamo’s channeling of the beat poet cadences and imagery matches up well with the musical arrangement." SOULTRACKS