Boz Scaggs: Speak Low

Boz Scaggs

Five years ago, it came as no surprise that But Beautiful, Boz Scaggs’ first foray into jazz standards, was an unqualified success. And it comes as no surprise that his long overdue follow-up is even better. Scaggs accurately describes Speak Low as “a sort of progressive, experimental effort” inspired in part by “the ideas Gil Evans explored.” Embracing a more ambitious playlist than previously-one that extends from Rodgers and Hart, Ellington and Mercer to Weill, Jobim, Landesman and Wolf-and, courtesy of producer and keyboardist Gil Goldstein, working with arrangements that are significantly more adventurous, Scaggs does, indeed, capture the dense, angular beauty of Evans’ finest work.