CD Review: Jan Harbeck Quintet - The Sound The Rhythm

Jan Harbeck (tenor sax); Henrik Gunde (piano); Eske Nørrelykke (bass); Anders Holm or/and Morten Ærø (drums) + Jan sum Vohrde (alto sax).

(Review by Lance).

Ostensibly a tribute to Ben Webster who spent several years in Copenhagen, Harbeck captures the essence of Webster's playing albeit without Ben's edginess on uptempo numbers. This doesn't detract in any way but denotes that Harbeck can do the tribute without the lip service.

There is a screenplay waiting to be written around these tunes. In particular, the opener,  Lighter Shades. Despite the title, this is pure 1950's noir. It's atmospheric, it's Mike Hammer going into a dive, a blonde floozy doing a bump and grind routine, a body in an alley. The cover sustains the mood.

It isn't all dark, mostly it's swingy and just the sort of thing that Ben excelled in. Harbeck has the rich-toned tenor sound that, for a while, took a backseat after Lester arrived. 

His fellow [great] Danes in the engine room prove that not all European jazzmen have deserted the mainstream - Ben would have loved working with these guys on a gig or a record date. I'm not entirely sure that the decision to use two drummers on Webster's Shorty Cull added anything extra still, I don't think they did it any harm either!

Although Jan sum Vohrde only blows alto on I'd Be There, his presence adds to the authenticity of a tune composed by Webster and Johnny Hodges and it would have been nice to have heard more.

Ten tracks: 5 by Harbeck, 4 by Webster, 1 by Strayhorn.
Lance.
Available now on Stunt Records CD or LP 19022/19021