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Customer Reviews of Homage

More glorious old-guy jazz
As if we haven't recently had a surfeit of spectacular discs from elderly (and sometimes relatively unsung) jazz masters--Ahmad Jamal's In Search of Momentum, Roy Haynes's Love Letters, The Great Jazz Trio's Autumn Leaves, Abdullah Ibrahim's African Magic, Randy Weston's Live in St. Lucia, Yusef Lateef and the Go: Organic Orchestra's In the Garden (and I'm sure I've left some out)--along comes James Moody with Homage, if not his best-ever effort, certainly the most engaging thing he's recorded in a long time.

Veteran industry mover and shaker Steve Backer, newly resussitating the semi-moribund label, Savoy (check out his other great release of 2004, Fly), seems largely responsible.

The concept here is the reverse of the usual homage idea where a younger player acknowledges his debt to players who've influenced him. A recent example would be Chris Potter's disc, Gratitude. Here, jazz giants such as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul, and Horace Silver have composed songs especially for this recording. Moody, who's lived through everything from swing to free bop, easily masters the diversity of song styles presented, along the way giving evidence that he's one of his generation's top tenor sax players.

Moving easily between larger ensembles and smaller groups, the disc presents Moody in a setting many jazz practioners would kill for: top players, wonderful new material, and the formidable arranging talents of Bob Belden. Combine that with state-of-the-art production, again by Bob Belden, and you've got quite a disc.

Moody himself is in top form. He seems entirely energized by the admittedly engaging concept, the glorious tunes, and the smart band, which features pianist David Hazeltine (sounding better than I've ever heard him), bassist Hans Glawischnig (continuing to prove he's one of the best on the scene), and new (at least to me) drummer Anthony Pinciotti. Tasty guest appearances by monster drummer Billy Kilson, atmospheric wind player Charles Pillow, veteran percussionist Don Alias, and others lift the session to even greater heights. One caveat. The last tune's a loopy, hip-hoppy number featuring The Kid Next Door (huh?) that sends the proceedings into poppish territory that probably not all listeners will appreciate (especially the lisped rap rendered by Moody). It's especially jarring as it comes directly after Horace Silver's swing era-sounding tune, "When Lucy Smiles at Me." A kind of updated take on Moody's most famous tune, "Moody's Mood for Love," first recorded in 1949(!), it seems unlikely to achieve the signature status of that song, but one never knows. One explanation for the odd pairing of these two tunes is that the artist and producer chose to link them to showcase the vast distance jazz has traveled since its inception. Listeners will have to decide for themselves how well this stragegy works.

All in all, an entirely satisfying session, very smartly presented. Check it out.