HMC: High and Outside

Jimmy Halperin plays a Lester Young-inspired tenor sax, with bassist Don Messina and drummer Bill Chattin swinging at the Daisy Chain on this collection of cool themes mostly from the pen of Lennie Tristano but mixing in other breathy artists like Lee Konitz and Pres himself. Icy hot pieces like ”Leave Me”  or the snappy “April” have Chattin creating ripples of pulse while Halperin glides over like a long boarder. Messina has a jogger’s pulse for the bopping “Marionette” with the team swinging the blues on a swooning “A Ghost Of A Chance.” Halperin goes it alone for a closing title track, with the themes more akin to “high and outside” being from a Greg Maddux than a Randy Johnson. More style than mph.

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