I recognized the names, Henry Mancini and Charlie "Bird" Parker. I figured that because this band was a jazz oriented unit that they took those two well known names and put them together to come up with a unique name for their group. Well, they are someone’s names, just not the ones I thought. They happen to be a combination of four Boston area music veterans from the groups The Sky Blues, Bangalore, The Roys and Four Piece Suit. And the names Billy Carl Mancini, who is a vocalist and guitar player, and Ruby Bird, a vocalist and keyboard player, are the musicians the group is named after. I must say, it’s an interesting and thought provoking coincidence. 

I would have to consider this group to be progressive in every sense of the word. They combine rudiments of jazz, blues, honky-tonk, rock, world, and just about every sub genre that jazz has ever inspired. What makes the music that much more appealing is how they switch back and forth on tracks from Mancini to Bird for the lead vocal duties. Bird is more attuned to the blues injected numbers, while Mancini is more suited to the jazz and honky-tonk ambiance. They both have equally strong and emotive vocal tones and play their instruments with as much fervor and professionalism as humanly possible. You can’t create music like this without a technically resilient and proficient backbone, and the fabulous rhythm section of Sven Larson (stand up bass) and David Roy Kulik (drums) provide just that. The musical circle is complete, and it is always evident while you are listening.

Was I totally impressed by this CD? Oh yes, completely and indisputably. It’s so refreshing to hear such a great variety on every single track, and with such consistency and quality. With 13 tracks and nearly 60 minutes of music, that’s a milestone in terms of recording by anyone’s measure. There wasn’t a song I couldn’t find enjoyment or value in. That makes my job easy reviewing; I don’t find it necessary to single out certain tracks. The entire recording was so excellent it virtually eliminated that factor, and it usually is an important aspect of a review.

This is music for those listeners that enjoy jazz as a foundation with everything remaining open for structure and influences changing quickly within each song. That for me defines the word progressive.
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"Jet Setting In Morocco" is a beautiful and enchanting piece by Bird Mancini that is not unlike the smoothest Brazilian Jazz that most people in the U.S. first heard  on  the mid-60s classic "The Girl From Ipanema" by Astrud and Joao Gilberto.   Acoustic guitar and  gently tapping percussion  accompany  the  coying and inviting female vocal.  Somehow  the listener is transported to another place for a few moments,  just as the Gilberto classic created an atmosphere of its own .  It is  not  rock and  roll  but  neither  was  The Girl From Ipanema  and that was a chart topping  hit,  was it not.  
It is interesting in that the song is unlike other songs on the album ("Bird Mancini"- Second Story Label) -  those being from various rock and blues forms. For  example, immediately following "Jet Setting In Morocco"  is a song  ("Into The Night") which bares an instrumental break that sounds  for  all the world like it comes  from  the Jimi Hendrix  school  of  guitar playing. Surprizes are not limited to these two songs so if you do not hear  "Jet Setting  . . ." on the radio soon you may want  coax  the D.J. into digging it out, or just  buy the cd for yourself.
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Bird Mancini is a breathtaking piece of work that stylistically borrows from the likes of Eric Clapton, the Beatles, Lyle Lovett, Santana, and others that in combination creates a sound all its own. The lead vocals, whether sung by Ruby or Bill, soar with harmonies to match. The musicianship is superb from the guitar work, to the keyboards, to the sax, to the drums. The production is outstanding and the breadth of style makes this an album that one can play over an over again without it ever getting boring. They did a great job!
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