Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

His mixes of hip-hop and old school jazz present a bizarre clash of cultures that's a bit unsettling at first. Free style jazz is, by genre definition, supposed to come out of the artist at will, but the strict dialogue within the trumpet solos feels forced and works against the classic jazz style. I can see what the artist is trying to work here, but it takes some convincing.

Plunky's sensual message does come through however with an old reggae feel in Does Everybody. Old black romance sits calmly here when the brass is working with his voice. The same theme is evident in Hollar Back. Singer Charlayne Page has a sound all her own as she goes with the flow in this song: “Me and you can see why we miss our happy home.”

Hop Skip and a Jump switches up with an upbeat dance number, to “let your booty bump” as Plunky would say. Page gets to test her vocal stylings in Nevertheless but her tone is quite flat during much of the song. She has a nice solid and deep voice, but the song does not test her abilities. Another funky dance track is What It Is Is What It Is. Of note is the electric guitar thrown into the mix around the middle of the track.

His trumpet is flawless in Getting It Right. The melody is really something to jam to. It’s You has a very chill, Jack Johnson sound, like a party down at the beach. The lyrics are fitting: “Open the door girl and let me see what heaven has in store for me.” The sultry undertone helps the notes along, but it cannot carry the album all on its own.

To my ear, there was something 'off' with Cold Heat. I was waiting for just the right balance.. some spark of real brilliance, but it never came. There is talent here to be sure, but the method of displaying this talent is odd.  I could not get into the jams.  Maybe it's just that there were too many influences; if they could have picked a specific genre to work in, maybe their karmic energy might have hit the spot.