Jimmy Mc Intosh
Orleans To London
Arizona Club Records
By Bob Putignano

Jimmy McIntosh's Orleans to London assembles some of the best players on the planet, not that McIntosh is a slouch guitarist by any stretch, but for this debut recording McIntosh employs the services of three Nevilles (Art, Cyril, and Ivan) and from the London side Ron Wood and Jeff Beck, who, because of record contract issues, goes by the name of "Hot Rod" here. There are eleven tunes included, seven originals by McIntosh, ten instrumentals, and one vocal track by Ivan where the music was written by McIntosh and lyrics by none other than Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller fame. The other covers are Hendrix's "Third Stone From the Sun," Jagger and Richards' "Slave," and the traditional "This Minstral Boy" arranged by McIntosh.

"Biker Babe" sets the tone and vibe of this very fine recording with some very tasty guitar licks from McIntosh with Ivan Neville on organ, Cyril Neville on percussion, and a very talented bassist Rochon Westmoreland who also plays on ten of the eleven tracks.

"It Was A Virus" is a cool R&B tune with great lyrics that shows off the well known, talented vocal work of Ivan Neville, who also plays organ, and "Mean" Willie Green (also from the Neville Brothers) on drums, plus the three stellar guitars of McIntosh, Ron Wood, and Jeff Beck. McIntosh told me that, "I played the first solo, then Jeff Beck enters on the right channel playing off of Ivan's vocal, Ronnie Wood starts playing on the left channel during the long vamp, and at the end with Beck on the right side. Beck sometimes sounds like he's playing with a slide, but it was all with whammy bar." Sweet!

Other stand out tunes include: "Mama Funk" with Ronnie Wood on guitar and Art Neville on organ and "G-Spot," is not about what you think but is simply the key in which it is played. "G-Spot" features Beck, Wood, McIntosh, and Ivan, and its one of my many favorite tracks included. The ultra-heavy Stones song "Slave" will definitely get you in a Jagger/Richards mood as Wood, McIntosh, and Ivan really lay down the groove on this red hot cover. The closing "The Minstrel Boy" is an old Irish Folk tune that McIntosh performed at his father's memorial service in November of 2001. "It's a couple hundred years old and was played at Winston Churchill's funeral," he explains. "I worked up that arrangement and it came out nice. My brother had always wanted me to record a copy for him to have, so I put this on here as a kind of surprise for him." Everything about this disk is focused; it's very well recorded, extremely well produced, and Orleans to London will definitely be on my Top 10 favorites for 2007. This is a highly recommended CD. Feel very comfortable to purchase this disk. Bob Putignano www.SoundsofBlue.com

Bob Putignano
Radio Host WFDU's "Sounds of Blue"
President of the NY Blues and Jazz Society