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Larry Camp is a rare type of jazz guitarist – soulful to a fault, lyrical by nature and above all, patient – and after some three decades on the scene, playing with some of the famous names in jazz, this strings man has put together his own musical calling card, “Camp Fire”.
“You could say this project is a little on the late side,” he says jokingly, “Late, but still right on time.”
Joined by Mark Neuenschwander on bass, Richard Drexler on piano and bass, and Steve Moretti on drums, “Camp Fire’s” eleven tunes highlight the tasty, relentlessly inventive playing that has made Camp a first-call player for heavyweights like Dizzy Gillespie, Gary Bartz and Julius Hemphill.
The eleven compositions range from the lambent blues of Milt Jackson’s “S.K.J.” to the Latin-esque “Speak Low” to the fleet bop of Bird’s “Segment”. He and his band mates negotiate the diverse territory with uncanny panache and skill, tackling original and standard material in both quartet and trio configurations. Drexler switches from piano to upright on trio versions of “I Hear a Rhapsody”, “S.K.J.”, “It Happened on Me”, “Rhythm-a-Ning” and “In Your Own Sweet Way”.
“The best thing about these guys is their ability to listen and support whatever the situation calls for. They have strong musical personalities with fully developed styles, yet they are willing to let the music come first.”
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