Last year, alto saxist Jim Snidero rebelled against the draconian lockdown and snuck in a hip concert performance of standards that won my RINGER OF THE WEEK award. This time around, he goes back into the studio with a string section conducted by Laura Seaton, and with his regular team of Renee Rosnes/p, Paul Gill/b and Billy Drummond/dr, he puts together a rich musical mosaic that uses the strings as supplements and not as just background.
The strings add to the rich swing on a warm “Theme For Ernie” and form a dreamy dark sky landscape for Snidero’s flute during “On The Bank (River Suite Pt.2)” His alto puff out smoke rings on the intro that leads to Gill’s pulsed bass on “Dawn (River Suite Pt. 1)” while the pizzicato’d strings go dainty before the jazz rhythm section pops the clutch for Snidero to lead the charge on “Torrent (River Suite Pt. 3)”. Rosnes glides around the sunset setting of “Ventura” while the team gives a bit of a Jackson Pollack take of “It’s The Talk of The Town”. Modern art gallery with some classic masters.
Savant Records