This album could have fell through the cracks. On first glance at the attractive album art by Stephen Lack, it looks like many albums I receive from artists who play outside of the genre areas of The Syncopated Times. While Abe Pollack’s name did ring a bell I still wonder if that is only by association with classic age bandleader Ben Pollack. His band here is also unfamiliar, with the only name cited on the album I recognize being an acknowledgment to guitarist Greg Ruby for “guidance and inspiration.”
Then there are the titles. “Lullaby of the Leaves” and “The World is Waiting For The Sunrise” are the only standards, with the rest being Pollack originals. The accompanying notes list nothing more, not a sentence about intention or style. I assumed it would be a mainstream sound of some variety outside our reach but popped it in to hear “The World is Waiting For The Sunrise,” a favorite. It wasn’t long before I knew that a wide swath of the TST audience would appreciate this record and learning about someone new to look out for in New York City.
Abe Pollack has been mentioned only glancingly in TST, in bassist credits with Greg Ruby, and Duved Dunayevsky. He found his way into vintage jazz and swing with the Bailsmen, a New York City based Gypsy Jazz outfit with albums that did fall through the cracks. There is some of that style here, an accordion on three track
