Fire Within

Orlando Lafleming, Don Braden | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 1999)
• Original Release Date: March 9, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00000I73M
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #246,782 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Incendiary

2. All Or Nothing At All

3. Solar

4. The Boiling Point

5. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

6. Thermo

7. Where There's Smoke

8. The Fire Within

9. Fried Bananas

10. Doctone

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Although tenor saxophonist Don Braden utilizes three separate ensembles for The Fire Within, the CD boasts strong continuity. Braden animates his dark, husky tone with blistering solos that build steady momentum with extreme logic and passion. He favors long, thick melodic lines delivered in a peppered conversational manner. The inventive take on "Solar" greatly benefits from Braden's well-paced solo as bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts anchor the classic with a funky reggae rhythm. Braden raises the stakes on improvisational gusto with delightful pieces like the Coltrane-ish burn of "The Boiling Point" and the blustery but rhythmically intricate "Thermo." But Braden's keen sense of melody and, more importantly, his musicality shine in the enchanting reading of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". And the album-closing "Doctone" pays homage to late pianist Kenny Kirkland, who was scheduled to record on this CD at the time of his death. --John Murph

From Jazziz

Compared to Bloom's lilting soprano, Don Braden's tenor sax is brutish. But Braden's kind of brutishness, with a beveled lyricism conspicuously rounding its edges, is often commanding. That's often, not always. Even diehard Braden fans recognized his last album, The Voice of the Saxophone, to be a bit stiff. Known as a rousing soloist, he opted to instead present himself as an octet arranger. On a program that inferred scholarship by tracing the lineage of his chosen horn, he moved from Mobley to Rivers, stressing erudition at each turn. But it was formal to a fault - the music just kind of sat there. Several longtime listeners wondered where the juice was. The answer to that question is simple. It's on The Fire Within. Braden's follow-up splashes the juice with a volition that's obvious from the git-go. Further investigations only reveal the brains behind the brawn. Here's the disc that fans of the sax player's heated live shows have been waiting for. Braden uses three bands on the 10 tracks, a move that sometimes signals a lack of bearings - as if the summit couldn't be reached with one team, so the journey continued with new Sherpas. But here it's helpful - a reminder that variety creates perspective. From Braden's working unit of pianist Darrell Grant, bassist Dwayne Burno, and drummer Cecil Brooks III, to the trio cuts with Christian McBride and Jeff Watts, the change of personnel makes The Fire Within that much more vibrant. "All or Nothing at All" was cut in Britain with pianist Julian Joseph's trio; the flair shown by bassist Orlando LaFleming and drummer Mark Mondesir proves that Braden's liner-note flattery for the team is justified. Their take on the Billie Holiday jewel is shaded with tempo shifts and unanticipated accents. Using these adjustments as a confirmation to rock, the leader blows unabashed. He does the same on Miles' "Solar," with Watts and McBride - it's the most resolute I've heard Braden on record. His playing can be a tad earnest at times, but these trio tracks (which include Dexter Gordon's "Fried Bananas" and Freddie Hubbard's "Thermo") have a chipper quality to them as well. He's learned how to have fun.

--- JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It burns!!, November 20, 2000

By 

Bandy (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire Within (Audio CD)

Don Braden is a fine saxophonist of his generation. If I am not wrong, this is currently the best album by Don, most of the songs he is doing here are mostly post-bop contemporary Jazz and the main influence here is obviously inspired by John Coltrane. The first track <Incendiary> showcase the quartet's capability of laying a powerful, harmonically astute, swinging foundation, with that beautifully structured saxophone improvisation going in all directions.

A hot-driven rhythm section was born to create a new dimension for the project: Jeff Watts, Christian McBride and Kenny Kirkland. Then misfortune struck, Kenny died one week before the session date. Nevertheless, they opted to do this a pianoless trio format in dedication to the great Kenny Kirkland. The Trio did several tracks like <Solar>, <Thermo> and <Fried Bananas>. The track <Solar> is a joy to listen, here, this trio drives the music to some funky reggae and humorous grooves, you can hear Watts and McBride interacting behind those mind-boggingly creative improvisations by Don. Although the trio has reached another level, it is saddening to remind them that K Kirkland had left so early..

All the musicians are very sincere in dedicating their hardwork and sprituality, to Kenny Kirkland and especially in reverence to this exquisite art form, Jazz.

Real Jazz fans should never leave this one out, unless for those neophytes who like to worship that pseudo Jazzy David Sanborn for his pretentious " Soulful spit in the pit " / " Soulful cry" (Soulful noise would be more appropriate!) Or his irritating, childish and unintelligent upper register bursts with that commercialize R&B feel. David Sanborn should listen to this album, learn from it and then take up Banjo... (",)