Vintage and new sounds on the tenor sax by a couple of new names
No, not THAT Ryan Devlin!
This one is the one that I want to hang around, as he plays a tenor sax like he was weaned on Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane albums. His tone is big and muscular with his team of Per Danielsson/p, Thomas Milovac/b and Ulysses Owens Jr/dr, and he’s got bop in his blood as he digs in deep for “Freefall” and goes lyrical with Milovaci on “The First and Last of Everything.” There is a four part “Grief Suite” that is reminiscent of Coltrane’s classic A Love Supreme in it’s passion, with Owens giving a heavy hit to “Shock”, Milovac going dramatic on the modal “Depression” and Danielsson giving warmth on “Acceptance”. It makes perfect sense for Devlin to close out the album with a song from that album, a pretty read of the declaratory “Resolution”. Impulse visions.
Matt Carmichael blows his breathy tenor like a San Francisco fog rolling in with his impressionistic team of Fergus McCreadie/p, Ali Watson/b and Tom Potter/dr for this album of nine originals. Except for the off road adventure of “The Spey” which includes a rich sax solo intro, the material is an impressionistic collection of musical Raphaels. A gentle duet of sax and bass create a velvety “Interlude” that leads into a gentle cadence on “Hopeful Morning” while Potter’s hands tap out a graceful gallop on “Firth” and his brushes team with the melodic McCreadie on the lyrical “Cononbridge”. You’ll find yourself losing yourself in the palpable sounds on misty pieces like “Valley” and “Dear Grandma”. Rich reeds.