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5.0 out of 5 stars
CD/DVD set provides intimate jazz experience, March 11, 2008
This review is from: Alone Together (W/Dvd) (Dig) (Audio CD)
With this set, a satisfying jazz experience comes to your home theater as well as your iPod. Watch the DVD of this November 2006 quartet gig to see why jazz fans derive extra enjoyment from live performances: pianist Bill Mays navigating the keyboard with consummate skill and making faces as he improvises; Ed Soph showing us that drummers really can be subtle, tasteful, and relaxed; Rufus Reid proving that in this setting, stand-up bass is way cooler than bass guitar; and of course, Marvin Stamm making the difficult look and sound easy.
Three of the eight tracks are fresh treatments of familiar jazz tunes. "Alone Together" shows that the quartet can be alternately funky and swinging. "Invitation" is slow and haunting, and "Baubles, Bangles, & Beads" is a lively jazz waltz. The five originals by Mays, Stamm, and Reid range from ballad to Latin to bebop.
Mays is one of the most satisfying jazz pianists you'll ever hear, displaying technique, style, and a seemingly endless reservoir of melodic ideas. Many horn players would feel intimidated in a quartet setting with such a pianist - but not Stamm. Seasoned jazz listeners may speculate that Stamm's style on trumpet and flugelhorn is a blend of all the best qualities of Clifford Brown, Conte Candoli, and Freddie Hubbard. But the sound you're hearing is uniquely Stamm, honed from countless performances and recordings since the 1960s.
After you watch the DVD, put all eight of these tracks onto your iPod. You will enjoy them over and over, and they'll be a constant reminder that jazz is still producing new and wonderful musical experiences.
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