Search - Harold Land :: Promised Land

Last album Harlold Land and Billy Higgins ever recorded

JS | California | 08/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was very sad that both legendary drummer Billy Higgins and Harlold Land passed away shortly after recording this album. A phenominal quartet and spectacular Jazz. The recording is uncompressed and you can hear every detail from Mulgrew Miller's grunting to hearing the keys on the sax being pressed. Truly an audiophile grade recording."

Makes Good on the Promise

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 11/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Harold Land's final recording and his first in seven years, the great tenor saxophonist sounds stonger to me on this outing than on some of his recordings from the '70's and '80's. Compared to his work with Clifford Brown, Curtis Counce, and to a landmark date like "The Fox," his tone admittedly sounds somewhat forced, lacking the support of a continuous breathstream, but more power to him for rising to the occasion. The program is a varied mix of standards and modal originals, and all of these superb instrumentalists--Land, Mulgrew Miller, Ray Drummond, and Billy Higgins--make significant contributions on each of the tunes (though "What's New" is a duet between Land and Miller).



As for the claim that the audio represents a breakthrough in digital recording technology, I'm practically a believer after playing the disc four consecutive times without "listener's fatigue." There's no equalization, noise reduction, compression or dubbing, and as a result the rhythm section has an undeniable natural presence and depth. (It's one of the rare times I've heard a bass sound like a bass since the early '60's.) You'll have to boost the gain on your amp and adjust, but the real gain is the listener's. The recording literally opens the door to a room that is altogether inviting and accommodating. You're seated directly in front of Harold Land's saxophone (the microphone placement clearly favors him), while the sounds of the other musicians permeate the environment with stunning versimilitude.



If you're new to Harold Land, start with the Brown/Roach recordings (heresy, but I prefer the Land sessions to those with Rollins) or "The Curtis Counce Group" (which opens with Harold's remarkable "Landslide" followed by his exquisite ballad treatment of "Time After Time"). But if you're already well aware of this diminutive musician who was one of the true titans of the tenor saxophone, "Promised Land" is another gold strike from the Land mine."