Another rare treat from a veteran and someone whose work always makes the spine tingle. Drummer Al Foster, 79, the Miles Davis player who was on 1970s and 80s albums of the trumpet genius including In Concert: Live at Philharmonic Hall, Big Fun, Get Up with It, Dark Magus and on through to Decoy, You're Under Arrest and Amandla, has recorded the Sonny Rollins classic standard before on a 1990s Hank Jones trio recording as a member of the much-missed great pianist's trio.
'Pent-Up House' which has a bebop chirpiness and harmonic joie de vivre to it first appeared in 1956 on the Sonny Rollins plus 4 album. The instrumentation on the Foster treatment recorded at Sear Sound in New York keeps to the classic quintet sound. And in Foster's band are the two Ps - peas in a pod for rapport going by the sound of the connoisseur blend - stellar iconic ease and magnitude of all-round masters-at-work prowess in one, the New Orleanian and Smoke Sessions labelmate Nicholas Payton on trumpet and, two, the Michael Brecker of the 21st century Chris Potter (the ex-Dan, Dave Holland, McCoy Tyner titan) on tenor saxophone.
Al says via his publicist: “I fell in love with Sonny Rollins from his albums with Max Roach. He played so lyrically on those records. It was like he was having a conversation through his solos. What a super genius he is.”
Foster's pianist is Kevin Hays and the fine double bassist the Glasperian Vicente Archer, superb last year on Orrin Evans' The Magic of Now and the rhythm section generates the right kind of traction the piece needs as it jabs and shadow boxes once again into our deep jazz head consciousness.
'Pent-Up House' is drawn from the Paul Stache and Damon Smith produced Reflections to be issued on 26 August and guaranteed to put a significant skip in your step to ward off all languor given the integrity of approach and taste exhibited by all concerned. Payton delivers some blistering solo work in key passages as the master throws rhythm after rhythm to him to play with time after time.
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