Ravi Coltrane - Moving Pictures (1998)

All modern saxophonists stand in the shadow of John Coltrane, but that shadow must be overwhelming for his son, Ravi Coltrane. Ravi certainly opened himself up to criticism by pursuing the saxophone as his main instrument, but he was smart enough not to play in the style of his father, opting to follow the influence of straight-ahead hard boppers like Joe Henderson. It was a wise move, since Ravi has a rich, warm tone and deft style that makes his melodic, well-structured compositions all the more appealing. Moving Pictures, his debut record, is mainly comprised of originals, with covers of Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, and Wayne Shorter songs thrown in for good measure. Working with drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, and pianist Michael Cain, Coltrane achieves a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere on his first session. It may not offer anything new, but Moving Pictures is a promising debut from a young saxophonist who may have a lot to offer on his own terms. ~ by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG. 

BMG / RCA VICTOR, 74321-55887-2, 1998
Recorded 15th-17th October, 1997 at Two Recording Studio, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Ravi Coltrane - Tenor & Soprano Saxes
Michael Cain - Piano
Lonnie Plaxico - Bass
Jeff “Tain” Watts - Drums
Special Guests:
Ralph Alessi - Trumpet (#1,3,7,11)
Steve Coleman - Alto Sax (#9,11)
Ancient Vibrations: (#1,6,11)
Junior "Gabu" Wedderburn - Djembe [Lead]
Jeremiah McFarlane - Djembe
Clyde Wedderbum - Djun-Djun 

Tracks:
01. Interlude - Thursday {Ravi Coltrane} (2:33)
02. Narcine {Ravi Coltrane} (9:20)
03. Tones For Jobe Kain {Ravi Coltrane} (7:22)
04. In Three For Thee {Ravi Coltrane} (5:05)
05. Peace {Horace Silver} (5:39)
06. Search For Peace {McCoy Tyner} (7:10)
07. Mixed Media {Ravi Coltrane} (8:22)
08. High Windows {Ravi Coltrane} (5:34)
09. Inner Urge {Joe Henderson} (7:50)
10. When You Dream {Edgy Lee, Wayne Shorter} (4:39)
11. Outerlude - Still Thursday {Ravi Coltrane} (2:50) 

Total Time: 66:28 

Credits:
Producer, Mixing - Steve Coleman
Assistant Producer - Sophia Wong
Executive Producer - Daniel Baumgarten
Engineer, Mixing - Joseph Marciano
Assistant Engineer - Nancy Marciano
Mixing, Liner Notes - Ravi Coltrane
Mastering Engineer - Ted Jensen
Photography - Jimmy Katz, Darlene DeVita, Dorothy Low
Liner Notes - Amiri Baraka

LINK

Ravi Coltrane ft. Steve Coleman - Inner Urge

Paolo Fresu Quartet - Angel (1998)

A native of Sardinia, Paolo Fresu has established himself for several years as one of the great voices on the trumpet since the disappearance of Miles. In a remarkably fluid speech, he incorporates sound elements from various origins, including electronic effects which he uses sparingly. Very active, he has several regular formations, mainly a quintet. But it is with the quartet with which he has been touring for three years that he made this recording. First of all, Nguyên Lê, French guitarist who has managed to achieve a subtle mix of rock sounds and jazz harmonies and makes intelligent use of the synth guitar. And a first-rate Italian rhythm, di Castri being known elsewhere for his superb compositions. The themes, apart from two standards, Angel by Jimi Hendrix and a traditional Italian song, indicative of the personality of the musicians of the group, clearly show that we are dealing here with a real quartet. "Fellini" by Fresu is particularly moving, as we know, one of the finest musical tributes that we have made to the master. "Sueños" (Dreams) by di Castri shows us that the bassist is also a great soloist. It is therefore a very beautiful album which will undoubtedly become a reference. ~ by Alain Le Roux, Chronicart.com. [Translated from French]

BMG/RCA Victor, 74321558642, 1998
Recorded 25th to 29th September 1997 At Esagono Studio, Rubiera, Italy 

Musicians:
Paolo Fresu - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Electronics
Nguyên Lê - Guitar, Guitar Synthesizer
Furio Di Castri - Acoustic Bass, Electronics
Roberto Gatto - Drums
Ornella Vanoni - Vocals (#6) 

Tracks:
01. Everything Happens To Me {Matt Dennis, Tom Adair} (5:38)
02. Walkabout {Paolo Fresu} (6:31)
03. Fellini {Paolo Fresu} (5:57)
04. Elogio Del Discanto [In Praise Of The Discanto] {Paolo Fresu} (4:01)
05. Saïgon {Furio Di Castri} (7:28)
06. Accarezzame [Caress Me] {Pino Calvi, Nicola Salermo} (3:55)
07. Variazione Cinque [Variation Five] {Paolo Fresu} (2:48)
08. El Saola [The Saola] {Dominique Borker, Nguyên Lê} (4:31)
09. Song One {Dominique Borker, Nguyên Lê} (3:10)
10. Sueños [Dreams] {Furio Di Castri} (8:00)
11. Dove Niente Accade [Where Nothing Happens] {Paolo Fresu} (3:35)
12. Il Gatto E La Volpe [The Cat And The Fox] {Paolo Fresu} (6:07)
13. Real Time {Dominique Borker, Nguyên Lê} (2:22)
14. Angel {Jimi Hendrix} (4:22)
15. I Fall In Love Too Easily {Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne} (3:06) 

Total Time: 71:31

Credits:
Producer - Jean-Jacques Pussiau
Executive-Producer - Daniel Baumgarten
Recording, Mixing - Marti Jane Robertson
Mastering, Editing - Jean-Pierre Chalbos
Engineer [Assistant] - Andrea Rovacchi
Photography - Pino Ninfa
Art Direction, Design - Bernard Amiard
Liner Notes [French] - Daniel Soutif

Shigeko Suzuki - Winds Of My Heart (1997)

This recording is another vibrant album released by Shigeko Suzuki who in her own country is considered one of Japan's jazz queens, but elsewhere she is lesser known. It follows in the footsteps of Premiére (1995) and Brisa (1996), both which were well received. For this album she showcases twelve charming and lyrical jazz masterpieces. Shigeko is best at Latin styles such as bossa nova, samba, and rumba, and those talents are certainly highlighted here on a number of the tunes. What makes this album more of a standout is the inclusion of keyboardist Kenny Werner, who also acts as both producer and arranger for the album. Other great strengths are the addition of tenorist Harry Allen and guitarist Jay Azzolina whom both outstandingly input further sensitivity into the chosen pieces. The selected compositions fall roughly into two categories, one is in the Latin-style, and the other embodying some more familiar jazz standards. Shigeo's style is a lot softer than most divas, but she certainly displays her ability to shape notes delightfully and in this regard some of the highlights include "Someone's Waiting For You” - “Over The Rainbow", "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing" and "What A Wonderful World" made famous by Louis Armstrong. Here, Kenny, re-jigs the tune, making Shigeko's interpretation a lot softer and deeper than the original. At first the album comes across as an easy listening affair, but on further appraisals there is great delicacy and depth conveyed by this fine Japanese vocalist, enjoy! 

Novus J, BVCJ-646, 1997
BMG Records, BVCJ-37592, 2007 

Musicians:
Shigeko Suzuki - Vocals
Harry Allen - Tenor Saxophone
Kenny Werner - Piano, Synthesizer
Jay Azzolina - Guitar
Tony Marino - Bass
Jamey Haddad - Drums, Percussion 

Tracks:
01. Wave {Antônio Carlos Jobim} (6:42)
02. The Shadow Of Your Smile {Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster} (5:49)
03. I Remember You {Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger} (3:47)
04. Colors Of The Wind {Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz} (4:21)
05. Beautiful Love {King, Young, Van Alstyne, Haven Gillespie} (3:40)
06. Someone's Waiting For You { Carol Connors, Sammy Fain, Ayn Robbins } /
Over The Rainbow {Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg} (5:27)
07. Love Is Many-Splendored Thing {Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster} (4:53)
08. No More Blues {Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius De Moraes} (3:04)
09. My Cherie Amor {Stevie Wonder, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy} (5:00)
10. What A Wonderful World {Bob Thiele, George David Weiss} (5:21)
11. The Gift [Recado Bossa Nova] {Luiz Bonfá, Matt Dubey} (5:15)
12. Two For The Road {Leslie Bricusse, Henry Mancini} (4:41) 

Total Time: 58:00

Harry Allen - Here's To Zoot (2001)

Impressive And Delightful

Here's another fine Harry Allen CD. There are some interesting surprises here. Harry plays the verse to "I Cover The Waterfront" slowly, and where you expect him to double the tempo, he doesn't, but keeps it slow. It makes for a different and pleasing approach. He does the same think on "Someone To Watch Over Me", though this one might be taken just a tad too slowly. "I Cried For You" is taken way up-tempo and features excellent brush work by Hanna. The most ambitious track is "I'll Take Romance", done in waltz time, medium-slow at first; then comes an unaccompanied piano solo by McKenna in 4/4, followed by Harry back in 3/4 time and with the tempo doubled. It's an impressive performance. "I Remember You" is played as a Bossa Nova, and "The Way You Look Tonight" has a crisp, jaunty flavor to it. This is a most attractive CD that will not fail to delight Harry Allen fans. ~ Bomojaz, Amazon.com.

Deserves To Be Heard.........

Harry Allen is in supurb form in this wonderful 1997 salute to his "hero", Zoot Sims. Fact is, Harry's tenor is sounding more and more like Stan Getz. The group is tight (McKenna, Moore and Hanna all played with Zoot Sims and they excel here), and the solos and interplay (and the recording quality) are excellent. Because it has only been issued in Japan, not too many people know about it and it is difficult to find. That's a shame, because it is a wonderful listen. Grab it if you get the chance. ~ Stephen W. Mckenna, Amazon.com.

BMG Records, BVCJ-648, 2001

Recorded 17^th & 18^th June, 1997 At Nola Studios, New York, NY

Personnel:

Harry Allen - Tenor Saxophone

Dave McKenna - Piano

Michael Moore - Bass

Jake Hanna - Drums

Tracks:

01. I Cover The Waterfront {Johnny Green, Edward Heyman} (5:07) 

02. Stars Fell On Alabama {Mitchell Parish, Frank Perkins} (4:27)

03. Spring Is Here {Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers} (4:48)

04. I Cried For You {Gus Arnheim, Arthur Freed, Abe Lyman} (4:21)

05. Grooveyard {Carl Perkins} (6:40)

06. I Remember You {Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger} (6:05)

07. Someone To Watch Over Me {George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin} (5:28)

08. 9:20 Special {William Engvick, Earle Warren} (5:14)

09. The Way You Look Tonight {Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern} (4:36)

10. All My Tomorrows {Sammy Cahn, James Van Heusen} (4:03)

11. I'll Take Romance {Oscar Hammerstein II, Ben Oakland} (5:41)

Credits:

Producer - Ikuyoshi Hirakawa

Engineer - Jim Czak

Assistant Engineer - Bill Moss

Mastering Engineer - Hiromichi Takiguchi