An emotional and heartfelt tribute to Wilner's mentor: pianist, composer and educator, the late Harry Whitaker who composed The Child and the Warlock. Garzone was brought in especially for the session and his paint-stripping solo on his own Hey, Open Up! gets things off to a good start. Wilner describes the trio as 'the children' and the tenor saxist as 'the warlock' - a title that's uber-appropriate when he's in full flight. Is there a more exciting tenor player on the contemporary scene? I'm exploring every avenue but I fear it will be a fruitless search the man's a monster!
A monster, but not one without a soul. Benediction oozes with Tranelike spirituality.
Trane's own composition, Miles' Mode, has punchy solos from Wilner and Pinciotti. Sadly, Pinciotti died shortly after this recording. Garzone is again in elegiac mode on Theme For Ernie. Wilner raises the mood and the tempo of this rather delightful waltz, dedicated to bebop alto sax legend Ernie Henry, Garzone returns to grab a bit more of the action before they take it out with just piano and tenor.
Wilner and Garzone combined to compose Moment to Moment (For Harry Whitaker). It's an abstract, meandering, free for all with each player ploughing his own particular furrow that somehow gels and eventually locks in. Garzone blows his sox off. Gill, doesn't walk the bass but sprints from one end of the fingerboard to the other in record breaking time and Pinciotti tears it up - inconceivable that this was his final chorus.
Re-Solution, another joint effort by Wilner and Garzone, comes across as a relatively subdued opus. Perhaps they're reflecting on Harry's passing. What is evident is that this is more than just another session but a one where Wilmer echoes his mentor's philosophy: "Prepare nothing but what you have already brought with you, then play". Lance
Available April 25 from Cellar Music Group.
1 comment :
Hi Lance=Two names caught my eye and reminded me of time when Anthony Pinicotti turned up as part of Harry Allen's band at one of Malcolm Frazer's house parties in Cheadle. Garzone was part of a quintet that John Allmark brought to Stockport years ago and I went to gigs at the Boars Head and then the Alma Lodge ..I watched him recently on a Smalls show and he sounded great.
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