Search - Hugh Ragin :: Feel the Sunshine

An original trumpet master . . .

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 01/29/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

". . . largely overlooked in this day of labels seeking to find the next horn god. Wallace Roney, apparently, wasn't it. Nor John Faddis. Nor Wynton (after all, Columbia dropped him).But Hugh Ragin's the real deal. With a quirky, unique vision and the chops to rank up there with the very best, it's a surprise to me why he isn't more highly regarded. He's the Bobby Watson of the trumpet: too old to be a young lion, too young to be an old master. But there's always hope. All it takes is the right producer to guide him into a final phase of musical greatness, like what happened to Joe Henderson in his last years.In the meantime, we have this absolutely spectacular disc to document his greatness--as player, composer, and leader. As a player, he reminds me quite a bit of Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson, another great, neglected trumpter. Compositionally, he's got a definite Chico Freeman thing happening--what might be termed playful spirituality. As a leader, he's chosen an absolutely killer band. It's always a pleasure to hear Craig Taborn on piano, one of the greatest of the younger players. Here he takes the lead in providing the exact right setting, be it the deep Afro-Latin groove of "Caravan," the dreamy vibe of "Feel the Sunshine," the scary soundscape of "Pain," or the breezy feel of "Gulf Coast Groove," with its way bloozy solo. The other players, Jaribu Shahib on bass, Bruce Cox or Tani Tabbal on drums, and Assif Tsahar on tenor sax and bass clarinet completely catch the vibe and play magnificently.Definitely worth checking out."