Hard Evidence

Another release from power metal's golden age, Hard Impact, the second album from Swiss metallers Crystal Ball, was one of the first attempts to fuse AOR with European power metal, and though bands like Domain and Evidence One went on to release albums that owed a lot to this, it holds up even now…

When many of the bop-based Young Lions who emerged in the '90s made it known that they were only interested in playing in the tradition and that they had no interest in avant-garde experiments, Jack Walrath insisted that he was playing out of the tradition and didn't shy away from an inside/outside approach. Walrath isn't as radical as Lester Bowie, but he certainly isn't as conservative as Wynton Marsalis, either. One of the many impressive albums he provided in the '90s, Journey, Man! finds the trumpeter leading a band he called Hard Corps and employs a cast of players you'd expect to find on a hard bop date, including Bobby Watson (alto sax), Craig Handy (tenor and soprano sax), Kenny Drew, Jr. (piano), Ray Drummond (bass), and Victor Lewis (drums)…

Cornetist Nat Adderley is in excellent form on his live sextet set but he is somewhat overshadowed by his two altoists: Vincent Herring and especially the explosive Sonny Fortune. With pianist Rob Bargad, bassist Walter Booker and drummer Jimmy Cobb offering stimulating support, Adderley and his men perform a pair of lengthy standards (a 15-minute "Yesterdays" and an over 20-minute "Autumn Leaves") plus Jimmy Heath's "Big P." and Fortune's "For Duke and Cannon." The long solos are consistently inventive and colorful, making this an easily recommended Nat Adderley CD.

This '83 live set at the Keystone Korner was certainly an uneven, sometimes curious event. The opening number is a solo alto workout for Sonny Fortune, who seems to amble through midway before he becomes recharged by the end. The last track, "Tallahassee Kid," fades out early and Adderley provides a run-down of band personnel until the disc ends. There are some fine cuts with punchy, snappy melodies, taut solos, and nice rhythm section interaction between pianist Larry Willis, drummer Jimmy Cobb and bassist Walter Booker.