Sunny Sonny Rollins

In the early to mid-'90s, no "Young Lion" was hyped to death by jazz critics more than Joshua Redman; to hear some critics tell it, he was as important a saxophonist as John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, or Sonny Rollins. The problem with such excessive hype is that it gives a young talent like Redman way too much to live up to at an early age; the tenor man was only 22 when this self-titled debut album was recorded, and he needed time to grow and develop.

TRIO is a varied and balanced program of material. Grant, like so many of the better musicians of his generation, has a knack for resurrecting jazz compositions from the ‘50s and ‘60s that are overlooked gems. Freddie Redd’s typically sunny “A Time To Smile” from “The Connection” cover that territory here. “Everything I Love” is medium-up but joyous and swinging with a delightful danceable groove that Phil lays down on the ride cymbal. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller’s “Is That All There Is” is their 1969 ode to ennui in a bid to be seen as more than R & B songwriters. It was recorded in “grande dame” style by Peggy Lee and became a big hit. Here the trio mercifully leaves the drama on the theatre stage and fashions the great melody in an easy, cool swing much the way Sonny Rollins made cowboy songs sound hip on “Way Out West.”…

In the early to mid-'90s, no "Young Lion" was hyped to death by jazz critics more than Joshua Redman; to hear some critics tell it, he was as important a saxophonist as John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, or Sonny Rollins. The problem with such excessive hype is that it gives a young talent like Redman way too much to live up to at an early age; the tenor man was only 22 when this self-titled debut album was recorded, and he needed time to grow and develop. Nonetheless, Redman did show a lot of promise on this CD, which isn't in a class with Coltrane's A Love Supreme or Rollins' Saxophone Colossus (some critics really did have the audacity to make such claims) but showed Redman to be a swinging, expressive improviser who had impressive technique as well as versatility.

This is a very interesting set, for bassist Harvie Swartz had the opportunity to play with five of his favorite guitarists. There are lengthy workouts with guitarist Mike Stern and drummer Winard Harper on "Alone Together," "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise," and "Sunny Moon for Two" that find Stern in particularly exciting form. Two songs match Swartz with guitarist Mick Goodrick and drummer Leon Parker (who was making his recording debut), and on a third song, guitarist Leni Stern makes the trio a quartet. In addition, Swartz plays two duets with John Scofield ("Gone With the Wind" and "Nardis") and one with Gene Bertoncini ("Embraceable You"). Everything works, making this one of Harvie Swartz's best recordings to date.