Not well known this side of The Pond, Tony Coe shows he deserves a better hearing on this album from a series of concerts 1995 in a pair of settings, small combo and big band, as well on three instruments, tenor sax, soprano sax and clarinet. The wondrous Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Bob Brookmeyer, (dating back to the days of Ben Webster in the 70s) surrounds Coe’s clarinet on “How Long Has This Been Going On?” while going on a wild ride with Coe’s tenor during “Nasty Dance” and creating a rich panorama for his soprano for “My Lament”.
The small group has Coe with Henrik Bolberg Pederson/tp, Brookmeyer/vtb, David Hazeltine/p, Thomas Ovesen/b and Steve Arguelles and includes Brookmeyer on his famed valve trombone teamed with Coe’s soprano on the sleekly pulsed “Antonia” while he alternates between straight reeds on the wild frollick of the title tune. What else is out by this guy, and what am I missing?