2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hot and mellow - some of each, August 20, 2007
This review is from: Heaven (Audio CD)
This is the unmistakable sound of seasoned players who have been working together for some time. By the time this session was recorded in 1984, drummer Bill Goodwin and bassist Steve Gilmore had been with Woods for a decade, and pianist Hal Galper had been with the group for five years. The newcomer was trumpeter Tom Harrell, but he fits in smoothly even though the group did not work with a trumpeter prior to his arrival.
The album starts with a refreshingly upbeat version of "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You." The next three tracks switch to a more mellow, easy listening mode with two Duke Ellington tunes ("Heaven" and "Azure") and a very nice rendition of the Dave Brubeck standard "The Duke" (which was Brubeck's tribute to Ellington). The alto-and-trumpet combination are very smooth, and a clarinet-and-muted-trumpet combination are used to provide a different tone color in the Ellington tunes. The mood changes again - back to straight ahead, energetic jazz - for the last two tracks, "222" and "Occurrence," the latter written by Harrell.
Woods is in good form throughout, and Harrell is a worthy partner. Some listeners may feel the album has a split personality (3 slow tunes with Woods on clarinet much of the time, 3 upbeat tunes with more aggressive alto and trumpet). Others may feel that the two Ellington tunes are missing the richness that only the Duke's full ensemble could provide. Still, there's plenty of enjoyable listening in this collection.
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