Search - Pat La Barbera :: Deep in a Dream

A Rewarding Ballad Album

John Tapscott | Canada | 11/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pat LaBarbera may be best known for his long association with the Buddy Rich Big Band during the late 60's and early 70's. Rich gave LaBarbera plenty of space to develop his hard-driving style on tenor and soprano saxophone. Since then LaBarbera has been resident in Toronto, Canada, teaching and playing in various Toronto ensembles, including the Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra, and the cooperative group JMOG. He has also toured extensively with Elvin Jones' group as the featured saxophone player.LaBarbera's vast experience has put him in a good position to record a 72 minute CD of his favorite ballads. Only the most mature and seasoned musicians can pull off a recording like this, and LaBarbera has succeeded admirably. His sound and style are deeply rooted in John Coltrane (in the liner notes LaBarbera cites Coltrane's Ballads as a personal favorite album) and in my opinion, this CD is every bit as engaging as its more famous couterpart. LaBarbera's tenor sound is full and focussed. (I love the 'trane influenced tenor sound on standard chord changes.) LaBarbera plays the melodies of these ballads with great beauty before moving into tightly controlled melodic improvisations. The ballads he has chosen are not all that familiar in some cases, but they are all rewarding and memorable melodies. My personal favorites are "There's a Lull in My Life";
"Moon and Sand"; "Some Other Spring;" "I Heard You Cried Last Night", and "As Long As I'm Dreaming." But the performance quality is uniformly high on all 12 tracks.
One of the reservations one may have about a ballad album is the lack of variety in tempos. But the group actually vaires the tempos a bit within the ballad framework, so that several selections approach a walking tempo. La Barbera adds variety as well, by playing two selections on soprano sax. The side musicians (Don Thompson, piano; Neil Swainson, bass; and brother Joe LaBarbera on drums) could not be improved upon, and Thompson and Swainson shine in the solo spots. An engaging and rewarding saxophone CD, beautifully recorded. Highly recommended."