Kevin West
Story of My Life

A jingly guitar and subtle harmonies inform the breezy little opener, “Best Of Mine.” Locked and loaded we are soon into the high-quality songwriting and playing of Kevin West’s new EP Story Of My Life.

Whitt Algar’s roiling piano and sweet electric guitar and a vocal from Whitney Hanna inform “My Only Sunshine,” probably the most commercial of the EP. This one’s got an Allman Brothers vibe (mostly from that piano) but the guitar work here is excellent, and it’s a nice singable tune. On the following ballad, “Sweet Innocence,” again featuring the sweet tickling-of-the-ivories from Algar, West and Hanna weave ’round one another as best they do anywhere else on Story Of My Life and there is more perfectly placed and played electric moments.

I love the mournful trumpet playing of Charlton Singleton and countering on sax from Mark Sterbank on the title track. This is the most directly confessional of all. And ‘jazzing things up,’ at the tail end of this EP really serves to put a nice spin on things. We also get the jumpy jazzy “Not For Nothin’” ending, showing off all the players leading and interweaving on this wonderful instrumental ending to Story Of My Life.