Max Highstein creates a velvety mix of tapestries as he plays the gamut of reeds (soprano sax, tenor sax, clarinet) along with bass and piano with his supporting team of Ed Willett/cel, Jeff Pevar/g, John Yoakum/fl, Rusty Crutcher/as-ts and Mark Clark/dr-perc. The emphasis here is on rich textures of harmonic reeds juxtaposed with various moods ranging from the tropical (“The Listener” ) and Carribean (“That’s The Spell”) to some funky Memphis swamp (“For Trucker”).
Highstein also does some rich solo work, getting klezmer’d on “Brother’s Keeper” on the soprano, and shuffling on the Armenian wedding-styled “The Reason To Be Happy”. His alto sax supports Rusty Crutcher’s strong tenor on the shuffling “Path Of The Heart” and he shows how to rock on “All Bounced Up”. Portraits painted with a wide brush.