‘Jazz Outside The Box’ is the latest album from keyboardist DAVID GARFIELD. Garfield started in the business almost 50 years ago working with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard but since then he’s worked on numerous projects that took him deep into other musical genres. For the 15 tracker that is ‘Jazz Outside The Box’, Garfield says he’s coming home… home to jazz and to help him deliver he’s brought together a stellar cast of side men. They include Poncho Sanchez, Steve Jordan, Randy Brecker, Tom Scott, Michael McDonald, Eric Marienthal, Brain Auger, Airto Moreira and, poignantly, Chuck Loeb and Larry Coryell … their contributions are thought to be their last recordings before their sad passings.

The LP’s repertoire is a mix of Garfield originals and carefully chosen covers. Of the originals, the most interesting is ‘East Lou Brew’ – a homage to both Miles Davis and St Louis (Garfield and Davis were both born there). The players on this track include drummer Vince Wilburn, trumpeter Wallace Roney and sax man Bernie Maupin who all played with Davis while the actual tune uses several classic Miles Davis themes.

The covers include two Sting songs – ‘Fragile’ and ‘Roxanne’ but jazz enthusiasts will find more to treasure in the treatments of tunes by people like Duke Ellington, Joe Sample, Oliver Nelson and Joe Zawinul.

Focus track though is a moving version of Horace Silver’s ‘Song For My Father’. Silver was an early mentor to David Garfield and in his seven minute version David includes the oft-neglected lyrics that Silver wrote. It’s also well known that Steely Dan used a riff from ‘Father’ for the intro of their ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’ and here Garfield incorporates the Steely Dan figure and (a lovely touch) has Steely Dan alumnus Denny Dias play it. Horace Silver would, I’m sure, approve.

DAVID GARFIELD: ‘Jazz Outside The Box’ is out now on Creatchy Records.