Customer Reviews

Facets

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

 

 

Sometimes it almost seems as if the REALLY good ones get swallowed up in the hype expended on the MERELY good ones.

I think that's the case here.

All these players are top drawer.

Yet none of them is exactly a household name.

Steve Gilmore (bass) and Bill Goodman (drums) are, of course, the rhythm section of altoist Phil Woods greatest and longest running group. Gene Bertoncini, an acoustic guitar player of exceptional taste and sophistication, has graced many wonderful sessions. Yet, their collective presence is almost minimal. Leader Niewood (various woodwind instruments) is practically invisible on the modern jazz scene.

Thus, a truly fine, even revelatory, session such as this is likely to get lost in the welter of more prominent jazz releases.

Too bad.

Certainly, this is among the finest offerings of 2004. It s(w)ings with an ease and grace seldom encountered in (Post)Modern jazz. Brimming with ease of expression and casual cleverness, this is a disc of the highest order of jazz accomplishment.

Yet, it will probably slip entirely under the radar of top jazz discs of 2004.

What a shame. I'm declaring it among the best of this year's offerings.

Simply wonderful. Miss it at your peril.

This is a great recording of the late Gerry Niewood. Nice older jazz standards. I was hoping that it would have had more examples of Gerry's improvission skills on the flute and sopranno sax. Still a good addition to my collection and a fine memorry of a great sax & flute dubbler.

I bought this cd for my father who is a musician & knew Gerry. He has very much enjoyed it. What a loss for music.

Gerry Niewood was best known as Chuck Mangione's sax and flute player prior to Chris Vadalla. I saw Gerry with Chuck in a small club and he was fantastic. His playing is tasteful and polished. This album is a mix of jazz standards versus the smooth jazz on his Share the Dream CD. I prefer Facets, but both are good. Gerry died in the Buffalo New York plane crash in 2009 while flying to a concert. He was a gentleman and a great musician. I spoke with him after a concert in Annapolis and he took the time to talk about his horn and mouthpiece. As a part time sax player I was honored that he took the time to talk to me. Gerry is all musician and no ego. Get this CD.

Multi-woodwind artist Gerry Niewood devoted this CD mostly to jazz standards he loved and the jazz icons who played them (for example, Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Phil Woods, and Sonny Rollins), thereby influencing his playing. Recorded in 2002 and released two years later, it was his last recording as a solo artist before his untimely death in a plane crash in February 2009.
Niewood alternates between alto, tenor, and baritone saxes, as well as flute and alto flute. He's backed up by Steve Gilmore on bass and Bill Goodwin on drums, both of whom spent many years with Phil Woods, plus Gene Bertoncini on acoustic and electric guitars. Niewood's son Adam joins him for tenor duets on two tracks - the up-tempo "Cheek to Cheek" and the blues tune "Doxy" - and their styles mesh so well that you can tell Adam was his father's best student.
This album doesn't feature Niewood's soprano sax, which was ever-present during his time with Chuck Mangione; instead, he chooses from the low end of his saxophone arsenal to play bari on two ballads, "I Concentrate on You" and "All Too Soon." As far as I know, this was the only time he used bari on a solo album (but I'm prepared to be enlightened if someone knows of another instance).
Superb renditions of great tunes ranging from ballads to blues to bossa nova to bop make this an excellent choice for any collection of small-group jazz, and a wonderful way to remember this jazz master.