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If you like swing music, you ought to check out John Sheridan and his Dream Band. Get Rhythm
in Your Feet is the third recording from this spirited octet that can boast of excellent soloists, elegant arrangements, and a chemistry that could only have been cooked up in a very hip kitchen. Vocalist Becky Kilgore has charm, technique, and a deft sense of rhythm that is fluidly in synch with the band. John Sheridan is a gifted pianist, arranger, and bandleader; the stylistic cohesiveness of the Dream Band has much to do with his range of talents. This band has an instantly recognizable sound that suggests jazz history is in the making.
Notable soloists on Get Rhythm In Your Feet include Randy Reinhart on cornet, Brian Ogilvie
on tenor sax, and Ron Hockett on clarinet. Reinhart plays with a brash confidence that is truly
masterful in either a swing or New Orleans mode; he can be depended on to turn up the burners.
Ogilvie seems to be growing with each Dream Band recording, as his long, thoughtful solo on the ballad “A
Handful of Stars” attests. On all three Dream Band recordings, Ron Hockett, on clarinet, has been a consistently
intelligent and subtle soloist with a beautiful tone. Russ Phillips does a good job subbing for
the trombone wizard Dan Barrett, and the rhythm section as usual is superb. On this recording the
quartet of pianist John Sheridan, guitarist Reuben Ristrom, bassist Phil Flanigan, and
drummer Ed Metz, Jr. keeps the music alert, lively, and flexible. Metz ably subs for the regular
drummer, the accomplished Jeff Hamilton.
Vocalist Becky Kilgore joined the band on its second, classic recording ( Dream Band, Make Me
Dream Some More ) and is featured on half of the sixteen tracks on this recording. She is emotionally attuned to
the band, with an upbeat, off-handed ease to her phrasing. The instrumentalists accompany her with
vigor and grace; do check out Sheridan’s piano comping throughout. In short, this is an extraordinary band that has
all its pieces in place, a band that truly deserves attentive and repeated listening. Highly recommended.
~ Mike Neely
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Track Listing: Stop, Look and Listen; All the Cats Join In; Indian Summer; I Love My Baby; I Was Doing All Right; A
Gal in Calico; Humpty Dumpty Heart; Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea; People Like You
and Me; I’m In the Mood For Love; Get Rhythm in Your Feet; A Handful of Stars; You Can’t Pull the
Wool Over My Eyes; My Extraordinary Gal; Walkin’ By the River; and The Dixieland Band.
Personnel: John Sheridan, leader, arranger, pianist; Randy Reinhart, cornet; Russ Phillips, trombone; Brian
Ogilvie, tenor sax; Ron Hockett, clarinet; Reuben Ristrom, guitar; Phil Flanigan, bass; Ed Metz, Jr.;
and Becky Kilgore, vocalist on eight of sixteen tracks.
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