Carola Grey and Noisy Mama: Girls Can’t Hit

Carola Grey plays, or to tie into the title, hits, the drums with clean crisp assurance. As a composer she’s got an ear for a catchy melody and prefers to keep things moving at a bouncy pace. Her band-Rick Keller, Werner Neumann, Martin Kalberer and Paul Tietze-is a tight unit, intimately versed in the ways and means of popular jazz rock fusion. On Girls Can’t Hit everyone hooks into an accessible vibe supplying smartly placed dips and soars for dramatic effect. Players are adept at riding a chunky groove and while they perform with sensitivity the overriding feel is of driving intensity.

In many respects this is predictable material-the sound is often derivative of bands such as the Yellowjackets and Steps Ahead-though complexities in phrasing provide entree for creative sparks.

Originally Published November 1, 1997