CD Review: Jakob Dinesen - Yasmin

Jakob Dinesen (ten); Darin Pantoomkomol (pno); Andres Christensen (bs); Jakob Hoyer (dms) Per Møllehø (gtr); Hugo Rasmussen (bs) + string quartet.

(Review by Lance).

Just as the old saying goes that every comedian wants to play Hamlet, in our world I guess this equates with the belief that every jazzman wants to record with strings.

Many of then have - Bird, Dizzy, Brownie, Art (Pepper), Chet, Bobby Hackett, the list goes on. The artists themselves, generally speaking, enjoyed these breaks away from the wham bang thank you ma'am of their everyday gig at the office. By and large the critics didn't go along with it some even referring to jazz and strings as 'lift music'!

I saw a cartoon the other day where the caption read 'As you get older, lift music gets better!'

Which brings me to this CD by Jakob Dinesen - a superb Danish saxophonist who has no problem with strings. He refers to Stan Getz and Ben Webster as being amongst his inspirations and Dinesen does incorporate the feeling expressed by those two giants in his playing whilst, at the same time, retaining his individuality. Tone-wise, his sound lies to the south of Getz and to the north of, say, Warne Marsh. 

A mix of class standards - That's All, PS I Love You, Lush Life & Tenderly -  and originals - Onlyest Way, The Band, Yasmin, Bush Baby.

If this is 'lift music' make sure the elevator doesn't have CCTV coverage - the footage might be quite revealing!

Peel me a grape, honey...

Lance.
Available on Stunt Records.