With so many jazz artists playing the saxes on the , ahem, BRIGHT side so often, this pair of albums from Neuma Records shows the softer side of the reed section.
Rotating between alto, tenor and baritone saxes Drew Whiting performs modern music in solo, duo and trio formats to delectable enjoyment. His soprano dashes with clarinetist Laua McLaughlin and pianist on “Shadow Dance” while he goes solo, using loops and tapes for his baritone on the sonorous and richly textured “Four Movements For Cello and Delays”, creating a rich kaleidoscope of tones. His alto is fluffy on at two part “Among Verticals” that would make Johnny Hodges green with envy, with a bubbly “Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano” soft and fluffy with Inde. Whiting’s tenor sax pads add to the pulse along with harmonics and subtones on the pulsating “They Are Obviously Sounds…” with the rich bel canto voice from each Adolph Sax creation an allure to keep following the musical journey.
Todd Gaffke switches between alto and tenor sax on a mix of solo and duet sonatas. A teaming with pianist Helena Hyesoo Kim has a warm and elegiac “Sonata For Tenor Saxophone and Piano” with his tenor melodically cantering on the four part “Hlaba Igaama. Gaffke’s alto is graceful and playful on the pure toned three movement piece “A City Moving Forward” and dreams lovely imaginations on “Linea Instrumentalis”. A 440 pitch that any reed player would aspire to.