Taking Notes

Award winning bass player Jeff Berlin is a legend of the electric bass. Simply put, he is considered by many to be the finest electric bass player in the world. Taking Notes finds Berlin is in the solo spotlight a good portion of the time (including a duet with keyboardist Clare Fischer on "Imagine" and the bass solo piece "Clinton Country," which is a medley of familiar patriotic songs), he also shared the soloing oppotunities with his bandmates; there are lead spots for Rob Lockart (on tenor and alto saxophone) and trumpeter Howie Shear. Taking Notes, while not featuring a whole lot of 6-string action, does offer the guitar work of Ron Eschete (one track) and Captain Billy Lang (two tracks). Down Beat magazine awarded the release 3 stars (out of 5), stating, "Berlin gobbles up massive amounts of notes like Pac Man heading down a long straightaway..."