Chris Ingham (piano); Mark Crooks (tenor sax); Arnie Somogyi (bass); George Double (drums).
(Review by Lance).
Yet another superb album. January is dealing them out so fast I can't keep up! Imagine lying on a recliner and having a scantily-clad person of your preferred gender* feeding you grapes and some exotic elixir de l'amour which is what this CD is - a musical love potion.
Stan Getz may be gone but not, nor ever, forgotten. Certainly, he plays a big part in saxist Crooks' musical make-up. Coltrane, Rollins and the Blue Note tenor players may have had the edge on aggression but no one could match Getz for lyricism and Crooks, miraculously, has absorbed that lyricism and incorporated it, via his own take, into this beautiful tribute.
The numbers are all Getz related covering various aspects of the great man's career and, thankfully, bypassing Ipanema and Desifinado although Jobim's Vive Sanhando is a standout number. Crooks, a member of the John Wilson and Back to Basie Orchestras, graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and is rapidly making a name for himself and, at the same time, reminding the world of Stan Getz's great legacy
Leader Ingham is well represented in these pages on the strength of two previous albums. Hoagy, a tribute to one of the all-time songwriting greats (if you say 'Who? then perhaps you should log out now!) and Dudley (yes, that Dudley!) both highly acclaimed. He also happens to be a brilliant pianist and arranger as demonstrated on all three albums (the first of which has our adopted Geordie, Russ Morgan, on drums).
Stan serves two purposes: a) It could inspire you to dig out your Getz originals or b) stick with this one - either way you won't regret it - one complements the other.
Four great musicians paying tribute to a fifth icon without losing their own identity.
Recommended - highly - which is fortunate as there's also good news and bad news...
Good news because they're touring throughout 2019. The bad news - you've guessed it - they ain't coming here which makes this CD essential for anyone living outside of the jazz hotbeds of Eastleigh, Belvedere, Dereham, Bexley, Diss and other dots on the map. With the exception of Ipswitch and Lincoln, I don't think any of the venues are in English football's top four divisions which suggest that the townsfolk have got their priorities right.
Lance.
Ballad For Leo; Split Kick; When the World was Young; Signal; Vivo Sonhando; Windows; Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most; I Hadn't Anyone Till You; The Dolphin; Detour Ahead; Voyage; The Peacocks.
Available Feb. 10 on Downhome Records DOHO005.
* Note how PC I was there? "person of your preferred gender" = 'bird' (in my case).
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