JEFF HEALEY

Last Call

[Stony Plain]

Although he was known primarily for his scorching electric blues-rock guitar work, the late Jeff Healey was also a passionate lover of early 20th-century jazz. Last Call, recorded in 2007, is the fourth album to feature Healey paying tribute to that music. Healey, who here sings and plays trumpet (as he did on his other jazz outings), is accompanied by only two other musicians, clarinetist and pianist Ross Wooldridge and violinist Drew Jurecka. The result is a stripped-down, cozy affair. Healey’s vocals on standards such as “Autumn in New York,” “Deep Purple” and “Laura” may not approach the sophistication of, say, Michael Bublé, and he’s no Miles on trumpet, but he sings and plays from the heart and exhibits an innate understanding of the form. The instrumentals, including “Guitar Duet Stomp” (on which Healey jams knowingly with his overdubbed self) and the Django-esque fiddle workout “The Wildcat” are never less than virtuosic.

–Jeff Tamarkin