Untitled Document One thing’s for sure, DanCox will never fire anyone in his band. That’s because the guitarist collects the whole paycheck by playing everything heard on Ashley Bird Cousins. Well, there is Larry, holding down the beat. But Larry is just the name Cox gives his drum machine.



This is an album of jazz instrumentals, but jazz in the way it might be played by Robben Ford, the Dixie Dregs or Jeff Beck – serious guitar riffing going on over icy-cool rhythms. While his overall style mostly emulates Beck, Cox gives nods to lots of other guitar gods like Stevie Ray Vaughn ("Wet on the Neck") and David Gilmour ("Ashley Bird Cousins").



He wrote all the songs, too, except for his interpretation of Cream’s "Sunshine of Your Love" which he slows down and turns into a slinky slice of funk, ending the song with a bit of "Day Tripper." Cox titled this effort after a woman who "literally brightened up your day" and it’s a pretty good bet that for most, this music will do the same.



Grade: B+