Here’s a guy that over 3 score years has been involved in some of the most fantastic music in jazz. As this disc proves, the truly great ones get better and better like a fine wine. About 6 years ago, Frank Wess put out a disc with Hank Wess that I thought would be his last “great” record. Boy, does this latest one prove me wrong on THAT one. Making his name with Basie’s Atomic Band, as well as the Akiyoshi-Tabackin Orchestra, Wess’ tenor, which is used solely on this session, is slowly melding into a creamy paste of Stan Getz and Ben Webster sounds. What more could one ask for?
Wess’ team here is made up of the adept Kenny Barron/p (who’s no stranger to tenor titans, having worked with Getz for years), Kenny Davis/b and Winard Harper/dr. Wess caresses gentle ballads like” Say It Isn’t So” and “The Very Thought of You” like he’s wringing the last remaining drips of maple syrup out of a wash rag; his sound agonizingly seeps through the rhythm team. His take of “Blue Monk” has the Monk theme sounding like a tipsy customer barely able to make it out the doors and down the street as he exits O’Reilly’s Bar, and tries to find a taxi to hail. Things get even better when just Wess and Barron deliver a pair of duets that are as intimate as your wife modeling her lingerie collection. Do you want more or less? His unaccompanied intro to “Come Rain or Come Shine” makes you beg for a complete solo performance and Wess doesn’t disappoint, closing the album with a bare boned reading of “All Too Soon” that summarizes your feeling at the end of this hour of music that resembles all that is right about music. The ONLY let down here is that there are photos of Wess on the album jacket that have him playing the flute-a portend of things to come? Maybe Album of the Year!
IPO Records
www.iporecordings.com