Search - Moody, Barron :: Fly Me to the Moon

Moody and Barron in orbit

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 06/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD collects the first 2 albums James Moody and pianist Kenny Barron made together: "Another Bag" (1962) and "Comin' on Strong" (1963), both for Argo. Moody is an adventurous player on tenor sax and is especially effective on the blues and slow ballads. A Coltrane influence can be detected on the slow tunes as James goes into double time and produces Coltrane-like sheets of sound - witness SONEYMOON FOR TWO. He is also one of the finest flute players in jazz, and about half the tracks feature him on that instrument. From the earlier and less successful album the most interesting side might be ALLY, which is in 3 parts - a sizzling tenor middle section flanked by mellow flute. This album features the group playing all originals in a very hard bop style. More laid back and varied is the later material from '63 where a few standards are added (AUTUMN LEAVES has excellent ballad Moody on tenor), a medium blues on flute (DIZZY), and even some exotica (ZANZIBAR). Kenny Barron is a lyrical yet strong player; both men would join Dizzy Gillespie's band shortly after making these albums. This Lone Hill CD is highly recommended to modern jazz fans and all Moody enthusiasts."