Dalton Gang by Zan Stewart, Star-Ledger

"Willy Dalton, New Jersey's jazz-meets-blues-meets-pop-and-funk guitarist, arranger and composer, knows how to make music fun while maintaining artistic vigor. His 10-piece Dalton Gang -- which usually includes such aces as trumpeter Vinnie Cutro, tenorman Frank Elmo, alto saxophonist Mark Friedman and drummer Vince Cherico -- demonstrates his prowess. The band lays into anything from a mambo-esque version of "New York State of Mind" to his own slow and funky "Last Year's Waltz" to Monk's bubbling "Bye-Ya" with zest and musicality.