05/04/08
DIVINE ART
KENNETH SMITH & PAUL RHODES/To Pan & Syrinx: This flute/piano duo should actually find fans beyond the classical realm as they are very inclusive in their playing, to wit: you don’t have to be a yuppie to appreciate their chamber music. Picking a romantic set card and serving up a work by Melanie Bonis that has a distinctly feminine touch, this is fun music you don’t have to be eating brunch to enjoy. Sprightly but with a sure touch throughout, this is a duo well worth your attention, particularly when you are in the mood for something different. Well done.
25066
EMARCY
JAMES CARTER/Present Tense: So Mike Cuscana got tired of making all those reissues and steps back into the producer’s booth with one of the hot, young lion sax players of the day and some all star pals for a blistering, contemporary session that honors jazz’s past but charts it’s way into the future. Playing with a certain something that we really haven’t felt from Carter in the past, this date is certainly one where everybody on deck raised everyone else’s game and the listener is the one that comes out the real winner. Contemporary jazzbos need to check this out.
TELARC
SAXOPHONE SUMMIT/Seraphic Light: Soldiering on without Mike Brecker but sending out signals they are in touch with him, this smoking set pays spiritual tribute to the memories of Brecker and both of Ravi Coltrane’s parents. Since many thought Brecker the musical descendant of Coltrane, there a lot of grand emotion playing out in these grooves. With a vibe that focuses heavily on Coltrane’s later period, the pros that step up and make this happen are in synch with it all, whether in this world or another. Hot blowing for fans of jazz they way it used to be but really want to hear it like it is now.
HIROMI’S SONICBOOM/Beyond Standard: Just when you think you have Hiromi figured out, the musical vixen changes course and throws you a most unexpected curve. Certainly still a player to watch, here she tackles a bunch of standards, but only with the added dose of Hiromi special sauce. Headstrong and insouciant at the same time, this bad babe is on point again. Whoever loved her in the past is going to love her more so in the present.
Volume 31/Number 186
May 4, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record