Review: The Dr. Seuss Project – The Dr. Seuss Project

The Dr. Seuss Project is a new musical endeavour from Massachusetts led by pianist Paul Bloom. Joined by, amongst others, a cellist and a tenor sax player, the sextet have expressed the Dr. Seuss stories via the medium of jazz.

Fifty minutes of jazz may be a lot to take in one sitting but if there are two words to describe ‘The Dr. Seuss Project’ it would be “playful jazz”. ‘Cat In The Hat’ features cracking key changes which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Steely Dan record. ‘One Fish. Two Fish’ contains a lovely, warm melody at its centre whilst the beginning, middle and the end sees the tune ‘Oh The Places You’ll Go’ reprised but with a different shade of mood on each take. Not everything works as well as intended. So the somewhat random flow of ‘Green Eggs & Ham’ and ‘Yertle The Turtle’ sound more like improvised takes, albeit of the proficient variety.

As tributes go, this is one of the most affectionate and without ever running the risk of sounding too reverential. Indeed, the musicians sound like they’re having fun and evoke the humour, melancholy, confusion and sheer joy of the stories they are based on.

Web Sites:
The Dr. Seuss Project Bandcamp Page

Further Listening:
Steely Dan