COMPOSERS: etc,Joe Bushkin,Thad Jones
LABELS: Blue Note
PERFORMER: Joe Lovano (saxophone); Hank Jones (piano
CATALOGUE NO: 70281
Scarcely a month goes by without a new disc that Joe Lovano either leads or guest-stars on. But this duo set, made in New York last year, is one of his better recent showcases.
It helps that the pianist is the incomparable Hank Jones, 88 years young, and still working with the inquisitive elegance that trademarks all his music.
They pick some unexpected and gratifying tunes, including three by Thad Jones, the Birth Of the Cool classic ‘Budo’ and Joe Bushkin’s delightful ‘Oh! Look at me now’.
Lovano still sometimes ties himself into unfortunate knots in his phrasing, but more often he settles for a pungent lyricism, and Hank shadows him with so much invention that you could just listen to the piano and not feel short-changed. Beautiful location sound, too. Richard Cook