Customer Reviews

Like A River

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A classic for the Yellowjackets. Soft contemporary sound. Insane fretless performed by Haslip, who combines the bass lines with the melody from the sax virtuoso Mintzer for a result never heard before. Great keyboard playing by Ferrante as always. A grammy winner jazz album.

Of all the Yellowjacket recordings, this is an underrated joy. The addition of Tim Hagans on trumpet gives the group an opportunity to create some beautiful textures. Hagans is a very gifted musician, fits right in.

Bob Mintzer shines on this recording with his big-bodied tenor sound, his unique take on melodies, never losing the feel of a piece, while improvising imaginatively. Tim Hagans has his moments too, particularly on "Dewey" where he successfully captures a Miles-like ambience while remaining himself

There are some real standout pieces here where the addition of Hagan engenders an approach that is jazzier than usual. Pieces like "Sueños", "1998", "Sandstone", "Dewey" and "Solitude".

Russell Ferrante and Will Kennedy's ability to play the different styles and their embellishments are essential to this recording as is the indispensible Jimmy Haslip.

For me, this is one of my favorite recordings, definitely top 3, in the 25 years or so that I have been listening to the Yellowjackets.

THIS WHOLE CD IS SMOOTH JAZZ PERFECT, AS THE OTHER REVIEWERS HAVE APTLY INDICATED. RIVER WALTZ, HOWEVER, MAY BE THE PRETTIEST CUT THE 'JAX EVER MADE, IN MY OPINION. AZURE MOON IS VERY TIGHT, ALSO.

RIVER WALTZ IS INDESCRIBABLE...JUST PLAY IT. IT LILTS, IT DRIVES, IT SOOTHES, IT CARVES IMPRESSIONS ON THE BRAIN AND HEART THAT YOU WON'T SOON FORGET. THE SAX LINE IS UNREAL.

AZURE MOON IS A REAL-CLOSE, RAZOR'S EDGE 2D PLACE IN BEAUTY. MAYBE YOU'LL LIKE IT BEST. I LOVE BOTH OF THEM, AND THE REST OF THIS CD. THIS MAY BE THE LAST TRULY LANDMARK CD THAT THE YELLOWJACKETS HAVE TRACKED. IN MY OPINION, THEY PEAKED RIGHT HERE, BUT THEY STILL REMAIN A VERY TALENTED GROUP.

As always, a true Yellowjackets gem. Forget the rest of the jazz/fusion impostors. Go for the originals.

Ferrante and company always make great music, even if not 100% stellar. You can always rely on them for easily accessible music that never grows old.

Peace Out.

Excellent cd!!! One of my favorites. I also love the Yellowjackets "Live Wire" cd.

If you like real mellow jazz then this is the CD for you. I used to have a copy of this in cassette form but wore it out so bad that it started to drag. I had to get the CD form and I am wearing this copy out also. This is smooth jazz at its best.

Have owned this cd since the mid-nineties and for good reason. It's a great, smooth collection and an assembly of excellent guest musicians. A must have.

In the interests of full disclosure, I'm not really a fan of "smooth" jazz, so I guess it's not surprising this collection didn't impress me very much. My favorites were those that were a little more energetic and adventurous, particularly "Dewey (A Tribute to Miles Davis)" which was perhaps the only track where the sax player really cuts loose. "Memoirs" is stodgier rhythmically, but features one of the more memorable melody lines from this release. The sax carries the lead for most of these tunes, but there were some fine solos: from guitarist Haslip on "Man Facing North", trumpeter Hagans on "Suenos", and the pianist on both "River Waltz" and "Sandstone". A bit over-produced and certainly over-cautious for my taste, but hey, jazz puts up a mighty big tent, so if this is your thing, by all means enjoy. I'll be putting something meatier on.