Word: sax
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Still, authenticity is served. All the numbers are built on the era's vintage tunes and formats--the loose, buoyant ensembles (Moten Swing and a hypnotically undulating Pagin' the Devil), the "cutting sessions" (Yeah, Man, a fiery face-off between the tenor saxes of Redman and Craig Handy), the crescendoing call-and-response riff patterns (I Left My Baby, whipped to a fervent pitch by Curtis Fowlkes' swaggering trombone), the galloping flag wavers (Lafayette, a raucous vehicle for trumpet soloists Nicholas Payton, James Zollar and Olu Dara) and the rococo after-hours ballads (I Surrender Dear, in which James Carter...
...successful in part because Robinson intersperses his monologue with lengthy performances of Parker's own saxophone solos: "Koko", "Warming up a Riff", and "Parker's Mood". Robinson plays so well and so compellingly that we can only imagine the sublime experiences of hearing Parker himself play live. The sax provides a respite from the depressing facts of Parker's life; when Robinson stops playing, we miss its mellow loveliness. The instrument itself becomes a symbol; in its interplay of sound and silence, it makes literal the poignancy of Parker's genius and early death...
With his knowledge of alto and baritone sax, and a flute thrown in good measure, Natchez was a good match...
...Another thing is that the learning curve for younger musicians is a lot steeper...Ben, our tenor sax player, who just started playing six months before I met him, is so much better...
...first year after he joined the band, he met an alto sax player whose experience Natchez uses to illuminate the distinction he sees between jazz...