Search - Harold Ousley :: Grit-Gittin' Feelin'

Harold Ousley is a jazz journeyman, a tenor saxophonist who can look back on a half-century career that's included stints with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Jack McDuff. Somehow, though, he's made very few recordings as a leader in that career. This CD catches him on a recent visit to his native Chicago, breezing through bop-blues originals and ruminating on several standards with a local rhythm section. Ousley has an approach of his own, compounded from such soulful blues specialists as Gene Ammons and the fleeter inventions of Dexter Gordon and Hank Mobley, and he also has something of his own to add to songs such as "Canadian Sunset" and "Lush Life." His sound is a muscular but flexible mix of gentle breathiness and metallic bite that can take on the lightly Latin-driven "Night Song" or wail with grace on the funky title tune. Ousley's combination of toughness and sensitivity marks this as personal and authentic, an emotionally direct music that's still capable of nuance. Pianist Jodie Christian, an underappreciated Chicago institution, adds his own depths, while bassist John Whitfield and drummer Robert Shy provide substantial support. --Stuart Broomer