The Champ: Round 2
is the second volume of
Joey DeFrancesco
's tribute to mentor and Hammond B3 groove master
Jimmy Smith
. While 1999's
The Champ
was an entertaining and honorable tribute,
Round 2
produces only patchy rewards even with the swinging camaraderie provided by guitarist
Paul Bollenback
and drummer
Byron Landham
. Compared to the first volume in which the initial freshness of the idea was more palatable,
suffers from slight stagnation (two versions of
"The Champ"
on this disc!) for the same reason. Following the late-'90s studio releases of
,
Goodfellas
, and the live set
Incredible
, three discs that rely mainly on standards and jazz classics, this disc is ultimately disappointing, finding
DeFrancesco
repeating challenges we have already heard him acheive. ~ Al Campbell