Justin Young | On The Way

Justin Young | On The Way
By Terrill Hanna

This ‘young’ kid is special. No….serious! His wind behind the brass is so mature, I wonder if he is kidding us with his tender age. This project, by all means, displays absolute maturity & grabbed my attention span much longer in the review as then expected. Other than the fact the smooth jazz technician Paul Brown mixed this project!

By chance, I’m talking about 18 year old Justin Young’s freshman release “On The Way”. This recipient of the 2007 Capital Jazz Fest Challenge graces what he exposed, I’m sure, to a great respect of jazz listeners that day with ease…I take it that he prides what he composes. There’s slow grooves & mid-tempo’d, ecstatic paced songs. Overall, the feeling you may possibly gain is if this cat is actually the age he proclaims…It literally took him 2 & a half years to complete this album! Its worth the wait y’all!

Song Selections:
— Sunny
— LuvHandles
— On The Way Here
— A Minor Groove
— JY Funky
— Hanna
— New Day
— Showers
— Falling
— Expressway
— Just Her & I

The titles can pretty much sum up what to expect in what you are hearing. With Paul Brown & also Tim Bowman, Wayne White, Tom Schuman & many other talented musicians backing him, I will not elaborate on individual tracks. The whole album is worth the entire spin!

Enjoy.

Terrill J. Hanna
The Urban Music Scene