Full of Jazz Joy and Adventure
John Tapscott | Canada | 02/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Having enjoyed Phil Woods' recent CD, "Here's to Quincy" on Jazzed Media, I made haste to buy Phil's earlier release "Phil Woods and Carl Saunders Play Henry Mancini" on the same label.
This is a matter of personal taste, but I think I enjoy this CD even more (and that's not to say anything negative about "Here's to Quincy"). From beginning to end, this CD bubbles over with a sense of playfulness and joyful adventure which is most appealing. The rapport between altoist Woods and trumpeter Saunders is so close you'd swear they'd been playing together for years, though this was their first studio meeting. These guys are the essence of jazz maturity, both in ensemble playing and in making personal solo statements at every tempo. Their ballad solos on this CD are especially deep and moving.
Mancini's compositions have appealed to jazz improvisors for a long time and no one should think that they are too lightweight to carry a 75 minute program. On this CD we are treated to familiar fare such as "The Pink Panther," "Dreamsville", and "Mr. Lucky", plus some lesser-known Mancini tunes.
It is perhaps rather unusual for a quintet session, but here the arrangers for each selection are listed. There are six different arrangers and this, combined with Mancini's strong compositions and the personal interpretations by the band, result in a great deal of musical variety. In the first six tracks, we get a highly original version of "Panther"; the latin groove of "Lightly"; the bluesy "Walkin' Bass"; the lovely ballad, "Soldier in the Rain"; the medium tempo, stop and go "Free and Easy" and the uptempo and hard driving "Fallout."
"Free and Easy" is one of the tracks which includes a nice passage of interplay between Woods and Saunders. Another such track is the closing ballad, "Two For the Road," one of the CD's highlights. "Fallout" has some exciting exchanges between the front-liners. Furthermore, they don't always play the "heads" of the tunes in unison, but in interweaving lines, which again, is somewhat unusual for a quintet album.
The rhythm section consists of pianist Jeff Jenkins, bassist Ken Walker, and drummer Paul Romaine who support and swing this music as well as anyone could. They contribute fine solos, as well.
Hats off to Phil, Carl, and producer Graham Carter for an excellent and well-recorded session which will bring much enjoyment to fans of bop based, swinging jazz. Highly recommended."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1