Guess Who's In Town

Daryl Sherman has combined a likable set list, talented accompaniment, and her own vocal style to create a solid effort on Guess Who's in Town! The arrangements of guitar, piano, bass and, on several songs, tenor and bass sax, concoct a lively bedding for Sherman's vocals and leave room for spry solos. The arrangements also vary quite a bit from song to song, which guarantees that the flow of the material never fades into the background. Overall, Guess Who's in Town!'s approach stretches from relaxed ballads to medium-tempo songs like the title cut. All of this serves to warmly adorn Sherman's light and airy vocal style, equally at home on traditional fare like "Carolina in the Morning" and oddities like "Tennessee Fish Fry." Jon Wheatley's guitar plays a prominent role on many cuts. His chord-based style adds bounce and swing to fun songs like "Tennessee Fish Fry" and a quiet intimacy to ballads like "Angel Eyes." Sherman's piano and vocal style is clearly founded in the '50s and earlier, more swing and mainstream than bop. This especially shows when Sherman and the band turn in a likable though conservative instrumental version of the progressive "Lullaby of Birdland." Sherman and her companions have put together a likable disc, firmly enmeshed in the easygoing jazz of yesterday. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi