Perhaps best known as a founding member of 90’s acid jazz group Brand New Heavies, appearing on their self-titled debut, Jim Wellman is back in the music world once again with his new solo album entitled Dawn To Dusk. Wellman had no intentions of recording again, but recent political events changed all of that, and it appears in every way to be for the best. Playing all of the instruments himself, Wellman hands over the lion’s share of the vocal duties to guest singers.
Dawn To Dusk will immediately appeal to fans of Brand New Heavies’ smooth soul-infused grooves. The album can be considered retro in a sense, but the sound still sounds as fresh as it did a couple of decades ago. In a manner similar to Paul Weller and The Style Council the lyrics are ripe with political venom, but the casual jazziness of the proceedings mask the bite enough that it often tends to sneak up slyly on fantastic songs like “Probably Good” and “Red Or Blue.”Dawn To Dusk doesn’t really break any new ground in the genre, but it’s a solid outing that never once falters from a well-versed veteran of the style.
