SCOTT YANOW- LA JAZZ SCENE– Waxing Poetic Reviews- ALBUM REVIEW

“Elijah Rock is a stage performer (he played Cab Calloway in the musical revue I Only Have Eyes For You), dancer and actor who is also an excellent singer. His deep baritone voice was previously featured on his debut album Gershwin For My Soul. For his second CD as a leader, Rock continues his crusade to revive songs from the Great American Songbook while also contributing a pair of originals.

Rock’s swinging style and large voice recall Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole of the 1950s without closely copying any of them. He utilizes a few different combos (soprano-saxophonist Charles McNeal on “Around The World,” pianists Uli Geissendoerer and Kevin Toney, and guitarist Jacques Lesure are among the key soloists) and two songs utilize a string section, but the main focus is on the singer. He is at his best on a swinging version of “All I Need Is The Girl,” “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off,” a bossa-nova flavored “Whisper In The Night” (which has its composer Josh Evans on piano), and “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” which has the feel of a tango. As a bonus, there is a second version of “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” which has Dominique Toney joining Rock for a charming vocal duet that concludes with some fine scatting.

While Elijah Rock is not that much of an improviser, he succeeds at inhabiting each song and making them sound like they were written for him, no easy feat. Matters of The Heart is easily recommended and available from www.elijahrock.com.”