Dennerlein, Barbara: That's Me

By adding synthesizers and MIDI to her sound, Dennerlein has largely escaped from the dominant Jimmy Smith influence that buries most organists' potential musical personalities. With the exception of the somewhat overblown "Love Affair - The Ballad," she excels on the swinging set, holding her own with such extroverted soloists as trombonist Ray Anderson, tenor-saxophonist Bob Berg and guitarist Mitch Watkins; drummer Dennis Chambers completes the quintet. Dennerlein's expert foot pedal work often makes it sound as if there is an independent bassist on the colorful date. She contributed all of the originals except Anderson's "One for Miss D." and the mixture of blues, ballads, a jazz waltz and more complex pieces works quite well. This set is a very good example of Barbara Dennerlein's appealing talents.