Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Bob Dorough: Eulalia

Bob Dorough: Eulalia

By Dan Bilawsky
January 22, 2014
View read count

Hipness springs eternal from the mind, mouth and hands of Bob Dorough. The cool-as-can be Schoolhouse Rock! songsmith who's worked with everybody from trumpeter

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis to precocious singer-songwriter

" data-original-title="" title="">Nellie McKay may have turned ninety in December of 2013, but age hasn't slowed him down too much; his wit is still razor-sharp and he still has a way of charming and disarming with his work.

This collection of music, recorded a couple years before the aforementioned milestone birthday, is full of smile-inducing gems. Dorough delivers a Brazilian-tinged, definition-driven delicacy ("Love (Webster's Dictionary")), a bop paean ("To Be Or Not To Bop") a bluesy ballad ("But For Now"), an upbeat-and-snazzy showcase for soloists ("I've Got Just About Everything") and a whole lot more. He mixes NOLA brass band swagger and straight up swing into the stirring gospel framework of "A Few Days Of Glory," and puts his daughter, Houston Symphony flautist Aralee Dorough, in the spotlight on the title track(s)—an original and reprise which bookend the album—and the brief-and-impressionistic "Consummation."

The songwriter and his songs are the stars here, but Eulalia isn't a one man show. Saxophone legend

Phil Woods

saxophone, alto
1931 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Phil Woods gets his two cents in on "I've Got Just About Everything," trombonist

Thomas Hulten

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Thomas Hulten has his moments on "But For Now," and guest vocalists Tammie Bradley and Gary Mitchell, Jr. bring the churchy cheer into "A Few Days Of Glory." Several other band members get their time in the sun at various points throughout the album, but it's hard not to keep coming back to the man of the hour.

Dorough, like fellow traveler

Dave Frishberg

piano
1933 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Frishberg and less-jazzy counterpart

Randy Newman

piano
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Randy Newman, has a voice that's really an acquired taste, but it's a taste worth acquiring. This man has elevated the art of the singer-songwriter in so many ways and it's wonderful to hear him still going strong after all these years.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Eulalia; Love (Webster's Dictionary); Whatever Happened To Love Songs; But For Now; To Be Or Not To Bop; I've Got Just About Everything; A Few Days Of Glory; Consummation; Eulalia Reprise.

Personnel

Bob Dorough

vocals

Bob Dorough: piano, vocals, arrangements; Steve Gilmore: acoustic bass; Herman Matthews: drums; Phil Woods: alto saxophone; Aralee Dorough: flute; Dennis Dotson: trumpet; Thomas Hulten: trombone, tuba; Warren Sneed: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Keith Vivens: electric bass (3, 7); Ray Wilson: guitar; Mike Mizma: vibraphone, pandeiro (2); Gary Mitchell, Jr.: choirmaster, vocals, Hammond B3 (7); Tammie Bradley: vocals (7).

Album information

Title: Eulalia | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Self Produced

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Roy Hargrove Quintet at Jazz at the ...
< Previous

Arild Andersen / Paolo Vinaccia / To...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.