I first saw trumpeter Brian Lynch back in the 80s, when he had a full head of hair, and was part of the front line for Horace Silver’s quintet. Multiple years and head shavings later, this guy has put together a career of sessions that is incredibly admirable, ranging from latin to bop to large ensembles. This is his second tribute to “underappreciated trumpet masters,” and it is as good as the one that was on my top ten list a couple years ago.
He uses the same premise with the team of Vincent Herring/as, Alex Hoffman/ts, Rob Schneiderman/p, David Wong/b and Pete Van Nostrand/dr: take material written by horn players that had a brief time in the spotlight, or at least were close to it, and revisit their material and style. It’s actually unbelievable how hip tunes like Tommy Turrentine’s “It Could Be” and Donald Byrd’s “I’m Excited By You” are, and how well they hold up. Lynch does lyrical justice to Joe Gordon’s “Heleen” and Idrees Sulieman’s “Orange Blossoms” while the saxes are in hard bop heaven on “Out/Dancing Shoes.” Lynch’s own “Marissa’s Mood” is a beaut-hopefully someone will do HIS songbook someday. Until then, Lynch makes manifest the Turrentine tune “Gone, But Not Forgotten.” Another beaut!
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