Search - Joe Albany :: Bird Lives

His best album, in my opinion

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 07/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pianist Joe Albany, a legendary figure because of his uncompromising approach to modern jazz, adored the music of Charlie Parker. This album, which is made up of tunes written and played by Bird, I think is one of Albany's best recordings, if not THE best. Joe is very familiar with these tunes, had been playing them for decades by now, and he plays them brilliantly here. Most are taken at a sprightly tempo, which suites Joe just fine; his single note lines dominate, which lighten up his playing immensely (often at this time in his career his playing took on a denseness that sometimes muddied his approach). Only the two very slow (actually too slow) tracks (BLUEBIRD and CHARLIE PARKER BLUES) suffer from too close introspection - the rest swing lightly and openly. Art Davis (b) and Roy Haynes (d), no strangers to Bird's music themselves, provide excellent support. If you wanted to get only one Joe Albany disc I would recommend this one."