Search - Joel Weiskopf :: New Beginning

Lyrical and Spiritual Jazz

Erik Werkman | Utrecht, Netherlands | 05/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The title of this album refers to the artist's spiritual and religious awakening, to which most of the tunes pay tribute. This is done in such a convincing way that one is immediately taken by the sincerity of this ultimately lyrical music. The players are giving their best and the combination of one of my favorite contemporary tenor sax players Walt Weiskopf (the artist's brother) with John Swana's trumpet is wonderful. The rhythm section consists of Joel on piano, the rightfully much in-demand bass player John Patitucci and the relatively unknown Jeff Brillinger on drums, who does an excellent job on his cymbals and supporting the music instead of overpowering it. Where his trio albums cannot convince me that much because of the lack in character of his own songwriting, this one is the exception with seven very good originals: highlights are "Falling Angel" and "In His Time", the album's closing piece. Another highlight of the album is the Quincy Jones tune "The Pawnbroker", which flows with a tremendous swing thanks to Walt's tenor and Jeff's insisting cymbal work. Let yourself be converted to buy this CD and get uplifted mentally!"