Fellow multi-reedsman Nelson Rangell could learn a valuable lesson from Bryan Savage, who takes the risk of switching off between flute and saxes on his Higher Octave debut Soul Temptation. Equally adept at being a classically influenced postmodern Tim Weisberg and edging robustly on alto and tenor towards the steamy Gato Barbieri sound, Savage offers a little spunky something for everyone: a rich, improvisational fireball of "Georgia on My Mind"; a disco-minded slappiness on "Party Line"; and a flashy Tower of Power-type vibe on the catchy "Kaleidoscope." Written by Rick Braun (who also adds Savage to his production resume here), that tune finds Savage like a kid in the proverbial music store carrying the slamming melody by tripling flute, alto, and tenor and wrapping that brew around Braun's punchy flügelhorn. Everyone wants the Braun horn sound on their recordings, and it's to Savage's credit that the trumpet only shows up on two cuts as harmony; Braun, however, does lay some slick grooves via his underappreciated skills as a keyboardist/programmer. ~ by Jonathan Widran, AMG.
Higher Octave Jazz, HOJCD
45623, 1998
Recorded at: Auravision, Brauntosoarus
Studios, Megatracks,
Savage Studios, Studio City, California
Musicians:
Bryan Savage - Alto Sax,
Tenor Sax, Flute, Keyboards, Programming, Synthesizer
Rick Braun - Trumpet,
Flugelhorn, Keyboards, Programming, Synthesizer
Bob Carpenter - Keyboards
Joel Gaines - Keyboards,
Strings
Vin D'Onofrio, Chris
Standring, Todd Sharp - Guitar
Larry Antonino, Cliff Hugo, John
Menzano - Bass
Joe Finger. Dave Karasony, Dee
Palmer - Drums
Scott Breadman - Percussion
Tracks:
01. Soul Temptation {Rick
Braun, Bryan Savage} (4:46)
02. Mulholland Drive {Rick
Braun, Bob Carpenter, Bryan Savage} (4:48)
03. Last Summer {Joe Gaines,
Keith Rouster} (4:44)
04. Party Line {Bryan Savage}
(4:18)
05. Saturday Night {Rick
Braun, John Mahon, John Menzano} (4:05)
06. River Of Dreams {Rick
Braun, Bryan Savage} (4:36)
07. Two Cool {Vin D'Onofrio}
(4:53)
08. Kaleidoscope {Rick Bruan}
(3:57)
09. We Have It All {Bryan
Savage} (4:21)
10. Georgia On My Mind {Hoagy
Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell} (5:43)
Total Time: 45:46
Credits:
Producer - Bryan Savage, Rick
Braun
Producer, Engineer, Mixing,
Editing - William Aura
Executive Producer - Matt
Marshall, Dan Selene
Production Director - Maria
Ehrenreich
Engineer, Mixing - Eddie King
Mastering - Stephen Marcussen
Art Direction, Design -
Robert Fisher
