Keith Pray | Universal Blues
(PrayNation Records)
KeithPray.com
Universal Blues opens with an expansive and adventurous seven-and-a-half-minute jazz/blues exploration. Saxophonist Keith Pray’s addition of electronica may have you questioning your gear, but once you let go and fall in line, the interplay between the organic and the digital is symbiotic. The give and take of Pray’s sultry sax, Bobby Previte’s drumming, and Dave Gleason’s piano is sublime. Justin Hendricks’s guitar swirls with effortless subtlety until provoked to fierce satisfaction. Bobby Kendall’s bad-ass bass tone holds your hand throughout the six thick tracks, the final piece in a flawless quintet. Everyone finds their place in Pray’s seductive compositions, each brilliantly starring and supporting as called upon, seeking, but never stepping out or on the other. There is space, but never a wasted moment. An apt title for recent global tumult, Universal Blues is an all-originals effort, tapping into blues culture from around the world, with a copacetic landing in Pray’s home base, the Capital District.
This article appears in July 2021.
