Joshua Breakstone: Tomorrow’s Hours

There’s a difference between imitating a given artist and paying tribute, which is what Joshua Breakstone does on Tomorrow’s Hours (Capri), a project that with one exception covers tunes by the late great Wes Montgomery.

Covers of other players’ material begs comparison, although it’s inherently unfair to compare anyone to Montgomery, a legend with one of the most immediately recognizable sounds and approaches in the jazz guitar world. Be that as it may, the first problem here comes in the form of the substandard sound, which includes low overall volume, poor miking technique that results in annoying bass clicks and compressed guitar tone that lacks presence. Performance-wise, Breakstone gets in some nice playing, but he seems off his usually good game, partly because some of the tempos are excruciatingly slow. Cases in point include sluggish readings of “Missile Blues” and “Twisted Blues.” Even the title track, a slow Latin original, could have benefited from picking things up a bit.

Originally Published July 1, 2002