Initiated by Lester Young in the Swing Era, the tenor sax led Jazz Quartet is on the most reliable staples on stage and record. Here are a pair of impressive recent releases.
Ryan Raziano brings his horn to the front with Buddy Dubourg/p, David Pellow/b and Pete Wehner/dr for a collection of tunes composed by either the leader or pianist. Of the former, Raziano’s tenor is warm and relaxed on “First Flight” and saunters through “Lay It Back” and is a breathy fog that floats over Wehner’s brushes on “Gossamer.” Dubourg’s creates sharp corners for a frisky and brash “Three Blind Squirrels” while his thoughtful title track features a rich piano intro and gives some nice blues chimes for the strutting “Induced Thoughts.” Strong modern effort.
Bassist Joe Martin leads an all star team of Kevin Hays/p-key, Nasheet Waits/dr and Mark Turner, who adds the soprano sax to his usual tenor arsenal for the spacious, sublime and relaxed title track. Martin creates a rich and ruminating feel for Turner’s sighing tenor on “Long Winter” while he gets funky with Waits for “Prospecting.” Most of the moods here are rich pastels, as on the deft “Malida” the rich and impressionistic post bopper with keys on “A World Beyond” and a subtle soul mix for “5X3.” Classy.