Shilts | Going Underground

Album Review: Shilts | Going Underground
By Brian Soergel

High-energy contemporary jazz saxophonist Paul “Shilts” Weimer certainly boasts ample street cred. He’s a founding member of the Down to the Bone and has rocked on stage with Brand New Heavies and funk kings Was (Not Was). The U.K. native moved to c-jazz friendly Southern California to advance his career and has prospered with three solo CDs. His fourth however, Going Underground, pushes aside any nicety-nice and is what it is – a full-throated, unfiltered, high-powered CD that reflects a new indie spirit as he’s now releasing music unencumbered by record companies. Good call.

To achieve his sound
raw and powerful, Shilts recorded the majority of the music live with
the same musicians. Unlike previous CDs, Shilts also brought in other
writers – Jay Rowe, John Gilutin, Randy Jacobs and Bill Steinway – to
collaborate on a few songs. The result: nine on Going Underground
that mix Shilts’ blistering Yamaha tenor sax with his dedicated focus
on the groove. The CD’s title references both the train system of his
native London and the yoke-freeing of his new independent career.
“Lambeth Strut,” which features a rousing Nick Colionne guitar romp, is a
nod to the famous “Lambeth Walk” song in the 1937 musical “Me and My
Girl.” The Brecker Brothers’ “Sneaking Up Behind You” is the CD’s only
cover, and it’s richly energetic and jazzy. Ricky Peterson’s Hammond B3
runs power a solid, old-school funk sound with Shilts’ daring,
improvised solos.  

           “Hip Bop” is
a traditional jazz tune with a modern gloss with superstar Rick Braun
on trumpet. Another tune, “Five O’clock in Rio,” offers a Latin pulse,
underground hip-hop beat and contemporary jazz stars Marc Antoine on
guitar and Brian Simpson on piano. Elsewhere, funk and blues get worn
out with “Tunnel Vision,” “Uncontainable,” and “Standing Room Only,”
while Shilts shifts down the gears with “Seeing Things Clearly” and the
jam-band groove of “Eyes Down.”

If you like your contemporary jazz raw and lively, Shilts’ latest is for you.

Brian Soergel
The Urban Music Scene