Best known as a sideman for Gregory Porter, tenor saxist Tivon Pennicott delivers a tour de force release of his own, mixing rich strings (conducted by Olivier Glissant) along with his team of P hilip Dizack/tp, Joe Saylor/dr, Dominique Sanders/b and Yasushi Nakamura for an emotive mix of originals and jazz standards that reach into the spirit of all of us.
Many of the originals have Biblical references, with “Galatians Five Twenty Two” featuring Pennicott’s warm tenor feeling like The Spirit is living in both the player and horn, while the swinging “Con Alma” is filled with optimistic pulsations. The horns work well together around the waving strings on the confident “Fermented Grapes” while Pennicott brings back memories of Stan Getz’s classic Focus on sophisticated piecs like the rich “Spring Storm” and the post bopping “Shameless Shame” with pizzicato’d support. There’s a sustained tension in “Rain Dance” and a Broadway feel to Ellington’s “Jump For Joy” while the closing “Thank You Note” is a brief yet thoughtful “Amen” to the album. Check this guy out!