A nicely balanced programme by a band that doesn't kick the door down when it knows that a cool swinging approach does away with brute force and gets a better, more tasteful, result.
Blame It On My Youth is a beautiful tune and I wondered how it would stand up without the great lyric. It passed the test with flying colours - just tenor and bass - how could I doubt that this wouldn't be one of the renditions? - blame it on my "youth".
Mayer is (it would be an insult to insert the word just) one of the many tenor players that are sprouting up wherever there is a bamboo plantation within shipping distance of a mouthpiece. He makes the efforts of Messrs Rico, Van Doren et al all worthwhile.
However, it's not a one man show, Dease does it on trombone and both pianists impress. Hayama on all but one with Cohen perhaps short-heading it on Get Organized. Some nice trumpet and a rhythm section that knows when to kick and when to soft pedal.
I'll be going back to this one more often than I won't (my English teacher is turning in her grave!)
Lance
Street date: June 4 usual suspects.
Big P (Jimmy Heath); Bye Bye Blackbird; Hand in Glove (Cedar Walton); Blame It On My Youth; Blues by Four (Mayer); Naima (John Coltrane); Elusive (Michael Dease); Get Organza (Mayer); Passion Dance (McCoy Tyner).
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