Based in Worcester, MA, Brownstone Recordings is to Boston what Delmark and Southport are to Chicago: a small independent label that is quite proactive when it comes to documenting local jazz talent. But not every artist who has recorded for Brownstone is a Bostonian; saxman/flutist Paul Kendall, for example, lives in New York, which is where most of Red Top was recorded (although a few selections are from a session in nearby Paramus, NJ). This instrumental hard bop release focuses on two sessions that Kendall co-led and co-produced with drummer Bob Leto -- Secret Love and Gene Ammons' Red Top are from a 1999 session with pianist Kenny Drew, Jr. and acoustic bassist John Ray, while the seven other selections are from a 2000 date that features Bobby Forrester on organ. No one will accuse Red Top of trying to reinvent the jazz wheel -- this CD is quite predictable and derivative, and most of the standards that Kendall and Leto picks are ones that jazz fans have heard time and time again over the years. Anyone who has a large collection of bop CDs has no doubt heard I Remember You and Secret Love more times than he/she cares to remember. Kendall and Leto also embrace Gigi Gryce's Minority -- an exuberant '50s bop classic that hasn't been beaten to death -- but most of the time, they show little imagination when it comes to picking tunes. Nonetheless, Red Top isn't a bad album. Kendall and Leto are swinging, likable players, and Kendall has an appealing tone whether he is on tenor or baritone. The musicianship on this CD is never less than solid, although one hopes that Kendall and Leto will be more adventurous in their choice of material on future albums. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

1		Red Top
2		Secret Love
3		Minority
4		Blues by Five
5		Dearly Beloved
6		Soul Eyes
7		I Remember You
8		The More I See You
9		Girl Talk

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