Sonny Rollins once told me that “albums are invitations to see me in concert.” If that’s so, then the catalogue of issues from Smoke Sessions Records should make you want to frequent that NYC jazz club, because everything they put out is a solid piece of music. This latest one by trombonist Steve Davis is no exception. He leads a finger popping team of heavy hitters: Eddie Henderson/tp, Eric Alexander/ts, Harold Mabern/p, Nat Reeves/b and Joe Farnsworth/dr take the stage here for a tribute to legendary ‘bonemeister JJ Johnson.
Johnson compositions dominate this set, with Davis going it alone on “Lament” and the standard “There Will Never Be Another You.” His tone is warm and fluid, nice and relaxed, and when teamed with the front line of Henderson and Alexander on the bouncy “Pinnacles” or snappy title track, the sound meld like sweet and sour sauce. Henderson is all dressed up with somewhere to go on “Shortcake” and Alexander’s big beefy tenor fills the room on “Village Blues.” Mabern is masterful on the staccato’d “Shutterbug” and does some wondrous work on his own tribute “Mr. Johnson.” The rhythm team is cruising on 92 octane the entire set; the whole set is a cooker.
Smoke Sessions Records