Customer Reviews

Blue Smith

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A master of mood and lyricism Mr Smith is a star saxophonist. This album features blues inspired tracks which are inspired and distinctive and are some of the most exciting and inventive I have heard to date. A new artist to me and an excellent example to discover him in.

A definite recommendation!

There was a brief period in the early 1990s when record-labels like Blue Note & Verve were turning to England for new signings: players like Stan Tracey, Guy Barker, Andy Sheppard & the Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith found themselves with contracts. Predictably enough the labels dropped them just about as quickly--Smith's now found on the Linn label (which boasts on each CD: "THIS CD SOUNDS _EVEN_ BETTER THROUGH A LINN CD PLAYER"). It's a great shame that Blue Note didn't stay the course: this album is first-rate, & deserves a wider audience.

Smith has assembled here a tough & professional New York band: John Scofield on guitar, James Genus on bass, Clarence Penn on drums. The basic territory is a middle-ground between the traditional saxophone artistry of Coltrane & Rollins and hot blues & funk. That's an area that's fairly well-explored in modern jazz, & the presence of Scofield makes comparisons with his 1980s/early 1990s band with Joe Lovano inevitable. What's remarkable is that Smith is by no means disgraced by the comparison. He's not as idiosyncratic a player as Lovano, but he's certainly got his own sound & approach. The compositions here aren't fancy but are carefully crafted, & give all the musicians solid launching-pads. There's real excitement in tracks like "The Blues Blew Blue" (a slow blues that then breaks into a breakneck chain of solos separated by stop-time episodes) or "Hubba Hubba" (with Scofield's fine choked guitar riffing). Medium-tempo pieces like "Eany Meany Miny Mo" work a pleasingly relaxed groove (until it builds at the end to a furious Coltranesque climax...), & Smith even tosses in a brief, gentle acapella reading of "Amazing Grace".

A word here for Scofield, who has rarely played better, even though he's perhaps one of the most ubiquitous leaders & sidemen in jazz today. Scofield's recent recordings seem to have moved away from his smart jazz/rock fusion on discs like _Time on My Hands_ to music where jazz is a less & less prominent ingredient; it's nice to hear him respond so well in a context that's a lot closer to his "classic" recordings of the 1980s.

A fine album, worth checking out.

This is a challenging and rewarding album! I love the "classic" 1940s and 50s small group jazz and was looking for something modern to fit these tastes. This album is not anywhere near what I was looking for, but it is excellent, high quality music. The two solo saxophone numbers (Amazing Grace and Miracle) are worth the price of the CD alone! They are beautifully played. As Amazon said, this is definitely a groove heavy jazz record. Luckily, the album avoids the twin pitfalls of becoming a pop/jazz or "modern" jazz album. I had not heard of Tommy Smith before I bought this album, but I will definitely investigate his music further.

Smith has assembled here a tough & professional New York band: John Scofield on guitar, James Genus on bass, Clarence Penn on drums. The basic territory is a middle-ground between the traditional saxophone artistry of Coltrane & Rollins and hot blues & funk. That's an area that's fairly well-explored in modern jazz, & the presence of Scofield makes comparisons with his 1980s/early 1990s band with Joe Lovano inevitable. What's remarkable is that Smith is by no means disgraced by the comparison. He's not as idiosyncratic a player as Lovano, but he's certainly got his own sound & approach. The compositions here aren't fancy but are carefully crafted, & give all the musicians solid launching-pads. There's real excitement in tracks like "The Blues Blew Blue" (a slow blues that then breaks into a breakneck chain of solos separated by stop-time episodes) or "Hubba Hubba" (with Scofield's fine choked guitar riffing). Medium-tempo pieces like "Eany Meany Miny Mo" work a pleasingly relaxed groove (until it builds at the end to a furious Coltranesque climax...), & Smith even tosses in a brief, gentle acapella reading of "Amazing Grace".

A word here for Scofield, who has rarely played better, even though he's perhaps one of the most ubiquitous leaders & sidemen in jazz today. Scofield's recent recordings seem to have moved away from his smart jazz/rock fusion on discs like _Time on My Hands_ to music where jazz is a less & less prominent ingredient; it's nice to hear him respond so well in a context that's a lot closer to his "classic" recordings of the 1980s.

A fine album, worth checking out.
Review by N Dorward.

Make no mistake, Tommy Smith is one of the underrated "Lions" to watch. On the same level as (but for different reasons) as Rick Margitza (Harmony Boy), David Mann (Sheer Talent), Joshua Redman (New Rollins re: melodic development) Bob Malach (color and intensity) and Dino Govoni (The new Avante Garde).
This is NOW! This is "new Sco" in all his greatness (Not 80's-mid 90's) and is perfect compliment to Tommy Smith, of course. Look Out...get passed the first cut..and listen 3 times!

Make no mistake. Tommy Smith is one of the underrated "Lions" to watch. On the same level as (but for different reasons) as Rick Margitza (Harmony Boy), David Mann (Sheer Talent), Joshua Redman (New Rollins re: melodic development) and Bob Malach (color and intensity)! This is NOW!
This is "new Sco" in all his greatness (Not 80's-mid 90's) and is perfect compliment to Tommy Smith, of course. Look Out...get passed the first cut..and listen 3 times!