I recently saw Tim Warfield in concert (more on that later). It is hard to believe that Warfield has been around for about 20 years now (his debut album Cool Blue dates from 1995). He is a prolific performer, but his studio output is not as frequent. This album is Warfield's 7th album of new material.
"Eye of the Beholder" (9 tracks; 69 min.) is, but for a couple of tracks, written entirely by Warfield himself. We start off with the excellent "Blues For Mr. Bill". It is immediately clear that Warfield is back by an excellent band (Nicolas Payton, Cyrus Chestnut, Rodney Whitaker, and Clarence Penn). "Tide a Dish I" and "Tide a Dish II" are the only two short tracks on here. Indeed most tracks are in the 9 to 10 min. range, giving ample opportunity to Warfield to stretch out his musical legs and to showcase his saxophone and clarinet prowess. The only negative for me is that at 70 min,, this is a bit too much too take in all at once (but that's just me). Other than that, this is another excellent album from Tim Warfield.
Warfield (this time backed by the Dan Karlsberg Trio) played the famed Blue Wisp jazz club here in Cincinnati this past weekend, and he played a smorgasbord of songs, including from this album. (Warfield explained that the Bill in "Blues For Mr. Bill" is Bill Cosby, apparently a long-time admirer/mentor of his.) They also played several new, still unrecorded, songs including one Warfield called ""Emanon" ("no name" spelled backwards, he explained), which brought a fast and furious ensemble performance. Fantastic evening of music that was. If you have a chance to see him live, do not miss it! Meanwhile, "Eye of the Beholder" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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