Rare are the albums led by a baritone saxist. Here are two that just dropped in, and both are gems.
Paul Kendall has a big and warm tone on this quartet release with George Grund/p, Roy Cumming/b and Petschauer/dr. The tunes range between boppers, standards and Latin lovers, warm on a semi-caliente “You Stepped Out of A Dream”, sleek on the samba’d “Desafinado” and digging in on “All of You”. He goes mano a mano with Petschauer on a sizzle rapid run of “My Shining Hour” and lilts during “Hi Fly”. He gets into magma on “Invitation” and bounces like Bird or “Confirmation”. Nice muscle flexing!
Brian Landrus is also in a quartet setting, bringing in Dave Stryker/g, Jay Anderson/b and Billy Hart/dr on this collection of tunes of Ellington and Strayhorn. As you may know, the Harry Carney’s baritone sax was the band’s foundation, and Landrus has a big full sound right there with him. In addition, Landrus also overdubs various flutes, piccolos, clarinets and even the bass sax to add to the Ellingtonian textures of which we all love. Landrus’ long tone on the bari is a work of art on “Praise God”, and his solo aria of “Sophisticated Lady” will send shivers up your spine. A pretty flute lead gives a fresh feel to “Warm Valley” , and Stryker is a perfect complement on ”Prelude To A Kiss” and the rarely heard “The Telecasters”. The textured woodwinds serve as a rich frame for the glowing baritone over Hart’s mallets on “Agra” and the soft “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing”. Glorious!