Here’s a trumpet player that you’re gonna love. Darren Barrett’s got a big fat tone and an attack like vintage Lee Morgan on this concert set that includes Myron Walden/ts-ss, Takeshi Ohbayashi/p, Alexander Toth/b and Anthony Toth/dr. All the songs are penned by the leader, and they’ve got the feel of vintage Blue Note and Coltrane’s Impulse! period. Hard hitters like “True” have a fantastic avalanche of rhythm; Walden’s tenor and Barrett’s trumpet ride it like John Muir in The Yosemite. Some glorious fingers fly from Ohbayashi on “The King is Among Us” and the band gets a bit frisky on the adventurously rubato “Mi les.” These guys were sweating up a storm this night, and you can feel the energy. Hot stuff!
dB Studios