Vision Of Beauty (Ron Jones Music)

Ron Jones Quartet

By Keith Brown

A longtime fixture in the Louisville jazz community, saxophonist Ron Jones may be the city's best kept secret. This CD should change all that. Anyone who's caught Jones live, either at The Twice Told Coffeehouse, Clifton's Pizza or any number of other venues, knows the man can swing at will. And this, his first CD, captures much of the spontaneity of one of those classic live performances.

Jones plays straight-ahead music, and the no-nonsense song selection reflects this. The album opens with the Jones-penned "One Step Up," a fast swing that get things off to a nice start. The band – bassist Tyrone Wheeler, drummer Terry Mahoney and veteran pianist James Williams – immediately come together as a unit, tight and committed.

Another tune of particular interest is the band's take on the Irving Berlin standard "Cheek To Cheek," with a neat arrangement by Jones that opens with a marching style drum pattern and a sweeping solo by Williams. In fact, the album is most successful when handling standards, like the medley of "Try A Little Tenderness" and "Lush Life" and a remarkably romantic take on "You Don't Know What Love Is."

In his liner notes, Jones reports that the fine title tune was written as a tribute to his wife, Sharon . It's a moving, inspired composition that hints at Jones' immense potential as a composer. So here, on his first outing on CD, Jones and his band does his hometown proud.