A solid session from 1976 featuring Heath with pianist Barry Harris, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Billy Higgins. The improvising is inspired from Heath on both tenor and soprano saxophone; he seems to be the only musician besides Lucky Thompson who makes bebop sound good on soprano. A wonderful example of this is the version of Body and Soul. Harris' playing is filled with subtle humor and his uniquely swinging 8th note feel, and even though the recording presentation is what I refer to as "basic" the music speaks clearly to the listener.
Tomasz Stanko "Litania"
I found this recent ECM release due to my fascination with drummer Jon Christensen. The program is a reworking of the film music of Krzystof Komeda, most of which I must admit i was unfamiliar with. Just listening to the way Christensen handles the first tune, how he uses the brushes, how he treats the time, and then where and when he switches to sticks, provides a perfect example of why he is so universally admired by musicians everywhere. The recording is by Jan-Erik Kongschaug, who is mostly responsible for what everyone refers to as the "ECM sound." The other musicians on this CD include Terje Rypdal, Bobo Stenson and Palle Danielsson with a front line of Stanko on trumpet, Bernt Rosengren and Joakim Milder on saxes.
Zoot Sims "and the Gershwin Brothers"
Zoot Sims is surrounded here by some Norman Granz Pablo regulars, Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass, interpreting a program of some of the most famous Gershwin compositions. What I noticed first and really appreciated was the way Pass and Peterson comped together behind Sims and never get in his way, or in each other's. They both contrast well with Sims' improvising as well, as his soloing is mostly very lyrical and expressive, while the pianist and guitarist dish out clean lines and pointed rhythms. The audio quality is like a lot of the other Pablo 80's recordings, clean, not too processed, but not necessarily natural either. If you listen to Sim's bossa nova recordings on Colpix and compare his sound on those with this CD, you might ask yourself what went wrong.
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