Ron Kaplan: New and viable arrangements of classic pieces.
Ron Kaplan Baked Potato Universal City

Contact: Kapland Records: 831 687-0278

The Players: Ron Kaplan: vocals, Tom Garvin: keyboards, Tom Warrington: bass, Albert "Tootie" Heath: drums.

Material: All of Ron Kaplan's material is made up of jazz and pop standards, but this is a case of a musician taking the time and the effort to work up new and viable arrangements for classic tunes, while making sure they fit his style. Whether it was his soothing rendition of "A Night In Tunisia" or the upbeat "Satin Doll," the songs were tailored for Kaplan. And that was important, as these are songs that most people are very familiar with. Everyone's heard the chorus of "April In Paris" at one time or an other, but Kaplan removes the humdrum and mundane elements that many vocalists leave in this music and claims it with his own mark of musicianship.

Musicianship: Ron Kaplan is a strong vocalist. He can hit high notes, but he generally stayed within the range which suits him best, which made for a rock solid performance. That was actually better than a performance which may contain some very spectacular moments, but be largely mediocre or worse. Kaplan was also easily understandable, which is key to songs like these, where the lyrical content is at the heart of the music. And another important item which Kaplan has mastered is mic placement; he seemed to understand that not every note should be sung at the same distance from the microphone. He had planned out how far he wanted the mic from his mouth and it always ended up there, adding a great deal of vocal effects without any electronics. To boot, he has surrounded himself with three longtime professional musicians, each of whom never waivered. Keyboardist Tom Garvin led the melody line and played solid solos throughout the night. Bassist Tom Warrington moved and grooved in and around the melody and the rhythm, and created great interplay between himself and the other musicians. And Albert "Tootie" Heath is a master. He demonstrated his knowledge that you don't have to overpower a drum kit to make the rhythm swing and he also displayed the many emotions which can be brought out of the drums.

Performance: This was a smooth show with very few gaps. At one point, Kaplan made a mistake during a song intro, but caught it and carried it off with humor and graciousness. The band had a good rapport and each player clearly knew where the others were headed. These guys played with feeling without having to shout at the top of their lungs or play as loud as they could, and that is an artform in itself.

Summary: Ron Kaplan plays jazz and pop in a cool setting, knows what he's doing, and has obviously worked it out over a long period of time...and it pays off. With music like this, Kaplan could go far.

-Jon Pepper