Live at the Village Vanguard [LIVE]

Tom Harrell

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 7, 2002)
• Original Release Date: May 7, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B0000665WV
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #146,417 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The time is right for Tom Harrell to release a live album. The veteran trumpeter is leading one of his sharpest bands, he's got a batch of challenging originals to introduce, and the live format allows him to pick and choose from four days of performances at New York's famed Village Vanguard and eliminate the inconsistencies that sometime characterize his studio efforts. Celebrated for his lyrical intensity, Harrell is in full melodic flight on the sashaying "Blues in Una Sea" and the ballad standard "Everything Happens to Me." The quintet, including tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene, pianist Xavier Davis, and drummer Quincy Davis, airs things out nicely on the driving, snaking "Asia Minor" and creates a moody minimalism on "Manhattan, 3 a.m.," a showcase for deep-tolling bassist Ugonna Okegwo. For all his offbeat harmonies and time and scale changes, Harrell is a little too tied to the hard-bop formula (he came up with a master of the form, Horace Silver) and his restraint rubs off on Greene. As live recordings go, this one is lacking in fire, but in resisting predictability and offering handsomely unified statements, it has much to recommend it. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Band..., April 8, 2009

By	S. Lee "music = sanity" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great, great disc. This was actually my introduction to Mr Harrell's incredible trumpet/flugelhorn playing. He is lyrical, probing, and melodic. The duet of "Everything Happens to Me" is a great example of his subtle lyricism. He has you dangling from one note to the next. Up tempo tunes to ballads his sense of rhythm and song is impeccable. His band is the same... Xavier Davis on piano and Jimmy Greene on Tenor are particularly commendable. Original tunes are snappy and even hummable... Tom Harrell is not a master technician, but he does make every note count and you'll find yourself anticipating the next note or phrase. The band members are really familiar with each other's playing and they are caught in fine form here...

1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars PERHAPS YOU HAD TO BE THERE, December 5, 2004

By	Crabby Apple Mick Lee (INDIANAPOLIS, IN USA) - See all my reviews

There is something about the recording of this night that sucks much of the life out of this CD. I suspect the actual live performance was much more exciting to listen to. As it stands, this is an "average" CD with the exceptions of "Asia Minor", "Where The Rain Begins" and "Party Song" interesting enough to recommend. This is too bad because after hearing so much about Tom Harrell I was wanting to like this much more. Maybe next time.