A
native of Huntington, Indiana, Denny currently calls Nashville his
home. He works as session musician, composer, producer and arranger in
the Nashville area. He already performed with Yolanda Adams, Herbie
Hancock, Kirk Whalum, Chester Thompson, Chris Kent, Take 6, Phillip
Bailey and a lot more. Moving Pictures (1995), Inner Voices
(1996), Jazzberry Pie (1998), Among Friends (1999) and
Body 2 Body (2002) are his previous solo projects. Smooth jazz
lovers worldwide were pleased by these albums which all remained on
the Smoothjazz and the Jazzweek charts for several months.
After such a long hiatus the curious fan finds
out that his new album Dreams Like This (2008) was a work of
five years. Denny comments: "I love all the albums that I created for
my previous record label, 1201 Music, but I had begun to realize that
my musical interests had a wider range than the format I writing for.
My early influences stretched all the way from Wes Montgomery to
Carlos Santana. That's quite a distance. I wanted to make an album
that captured all those things that made me want to play music in the
first place."
The opener Chill Pill is the right
medicine to start your morning with an uplifting melody. Fun shines
through every music note. Forward Motion offers signature
guitar chords with a strong horn support. Highlight of this album is
without any doubt Denny's sultry rendition of Sunny. The song
features the writer of the original song Bobby Hebb contributing scat
vocals. Denny comments: "I've love that song since first hearing it on
the radio in 1966. A friend introduced me to Bobby, who agreed to come
to my studio to listen to the version I'd recorded of his song. Not
only did he give his overwhelming approval, he wanted to sing on the
track! Nothing could've made an album about my musical dreams more
complete."
The mid-tempo Embracing The Fire is an
awesome trip into Latin fields. Certainly a tribute to Carlos
Santana's music. Midnight At The Wall features Nashville,
Tennessee born trumpet player Rod McGaha. His performance on mute
trumpet is superb. The song is build on the smooth jazz shuffle
rhythm, which is very popular these days. Mysteriosa takes the
same line with great finesse. Friends of 3rd Force should have a
listen to this song.
On Just The Thought Of You Denny reveals
his quality as singer. Denny says: "I wanted to do something with a
'Sade' feel to it. A friend of mine wrote the lyrics and we
collaborated on this tune. I used to sing all the time and for some
reason I got away from it. I really enjoyed doing this and having
opportunity to use my voice, the first instrument we are all given."
With the emotional Wounded Warriors Denny pays tribute to all
his friends and relatives which were wounded, physical or emotional.
The tune Roxanne was inspired by Denny's
guitar called "Roxanne", which he imported from France. "It's a sexy,
gorgeous instrument. I got the idea of doing the sensuous French
dialogue as it is the guitar speaking to the player." On the cover
photo of the CD Denny holds his Roxanne R2000PUH with both hands. The
enhanced album also offers a video of this song.
In The Mind's Eye is a dream catching tune
with flair. With Dreams Like This Denny fulfills his own dream,
to create a movie theme: "I love scoring for film and working with
different textures, rhythms and harmonic structures required for that
medium of composition. Dreams Like This is in 7/4 time
signature. Drummer Chester Thompson heard the demo of this song and
loved it. He was very anxious to record it so what was I going to say?
Absolutely! It Is again a part of my musical dream."
Tranquillo (Quiet) is a swinging jazz
piece, a melodic excursion into jazzy spheres. World renowned jazz
saxophonist Dan Moretti is featured on The Glass Half Full.
Denny comments this peaceful tune: "It's my favorite cut on the CD. It
is musically challenging and expressive to me. I love wine... red wine
in particular and I remember when I was writing this tune I looked at
my glass and it was half empty...or was it half full? How do you see
it?"
Wes Montgomery is Denny's favorite player. So is
East Of Montgomery his homage to this legendary guitarist,
especially his early recordings with horn sections.
Dreams Like This is finest guitar music.
The only flaw, it has lasted too long to release it.
