It's been a long, cold, tough winter here in New England, but today we say goodbye to all that, and welcome Spring. And what better way to welcome a little warmth than with the last recordings by the late, great Chico Hamilton. The Inquiring Mind is a posthumous release from Chico and his quintet Euphoria, recorded in the fall of 2013,  when the great drummer was 92 years old.
Chico's releases were always long on melody and uptempo beats, and this one is no different. Check out "Joy of Spring", which bounces along much as the title indicates, bringing a smile to this reviewers face. The band - Paul Ramsey (bass), Evan Schwam (saxophones, flute and piccolo), Jeremy Carlstedt (drums/percussion), Mayu Saeki (flute) and Nick Demopolous (guitar) - suited Chico to a T, and knows when to blow and when to lay back. Particularly worthy of note is Ramsey's burbling bass, particularly on tunes like "Up to You".
EUPHORIA has been capturing the essence of Chico’s spirit since its formation in 1989. It maintains its monthly concert series at NYC’s DRO.
To hear my conversation with Chico, click here. To hear my conversation with Nick Demopolous, click here. 

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