BROTHERS II is contemporary Southern Jazz at its best, featuring the memorable sounds of brothers Ken Watters and Harry Watters, and their band. The jazz listener is indeed in for some refreshingly honest and exciting jazz performances while listening to BROTHERS II, a very progressive and joyful jazz CD! This is the type of CD the jazz listener can participate in fully through the sound!

Pianist David Marlow gives some excellent stylings that put him in the forefront of contemporary jazz pianists, and his phrasing is flawless in every selection he performs on. Pianist John Miller gives one of his best performances on "Out of Nowhere."

This CD is so good, it is hard to pick which selections are best since each one of them is best! This CD gets up and moves, taking the jazz listener along for a very wonderful tour and adventure in Southern Jazz sound! "Sommerset Road" is very melodic and wistful, a song that deserves a lot of airplay time on jazz radio stations, as does the highly imaginative "Port-au-Prince."

For those who savor the enduring music of the late composer, Henry Mancini, there is his "Days of Wine And Roses," performed with much sensitivity, joyful abandon, fun, and subtle shadings. Good solo work on this Mancini song makes this a lively treat to replay again, for it grows on you with its inventiveness and sweet wildness, and that wonderful Dixieland jazz touch added especially for this rendition of the Mancini song!

Without doubt, Harry Watters is one of the best trombonists performing and writing jazz music today, and brother Ken Watters is equally good with his writing skills and performances on trumpet and flugelhorn. The songs, "Judy Rebecca" and "Trainer On The Beach", reveal the gifts of the brothers as artists as well as composers, each brilliant in touch, expression, and approach.

Roy Yarbrough gives some fine acoustic bass interpretations, and Jay Frederick lays down some fine drum work. Both musicians contribute additional clarity and insight to the band's inventive approaches. Two professionals who know their stuff and have the right stuff! The jazz listener will discover his or her own favorites on this highly enjoyable CD. "Port-au-Prince" will catch the listeners' attention and hold it, the rhythms strong and alive with Tom Wolfe's electric guitar and Harry Watters' trombone phrasings.

BROTHER II is a winner in all regards. Fine performances abound! Something different and likeable, something very Southern Jazz, contemporary, and enjoyable! Every musician performs with style and articulate phrasings! Excellent!