52nd Street Themes

52nd Street Themes

ASIN: B00004SQ28

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Why is Joe Lovano's retrobop revival record different from all the other retrobop revival records? Because 52nd Street Themes, which is dominated by five Tadd Dameron tunes, shakes off the musty museum reverence of such efforts and makes a very personal statement. Lovano's two most influential mentors in his native Cleveland--his father Tony and the album's arranger Willie "Face" Smith--both played with Dameron. So when Lovano plays a Dameron piece, he's not merely studying history, he's expressing the emotional debt of a son to a father, of a student to a teacher. Moreover, the saxophonist and leader has the kind of thick, creamy tone that does justice to the seductive melodies created by Dameron, Thelonious Monk, and Billy Strayhorn. And yet Lovano is a thorough modernist; no sooner does he evoke these old tunes than he pulls them apart and puts them back together again. There are seven nonet pieces (with Smith's wonderful, Mingus-like horn charts), two sextets, a quartet, a trio, a duo, and an unaccompanied sax solo. This is what Lester Young might have sounded like had he lived long enough to become David Murray. --Geoffrey Himes

Tracks:

If You Could See Me Now
On A Misty Night
Sippin' At Bells
Passion Flower
Deal
The Scene Is Clean
Whatever Possess'd Me
Charlie Chan
Theme For Ernie
Tadd's Delight
Abstractions On 52nd Street
52nd Street Theme
Embraceable You

Amazon.com

Why is Joe Lovano's retrobop revival record different from all the other retrobop revival records? Because 52nd Street Themes, which is dominated by five Tadd Dameron tunes, shakes off the musty museum reverence of such efforts and makes a very personal statement. Lovano's two most influential mentors in his native Cleveland--his father Tony and the album's arranger Willie "Face" Smith--both played with Dameron. So when Lovano plays a Dameron piece, he's not merely studying history, he's expressing the emotional debt of a son to a father, of a student to a teacher. Moreover, the saxophonist and leader has the kind of thick, creamy tone that does justice to the seductive melodies created by Dameron, Thelonious Monk, and Billy Strayhorn. And yet Lovano is a thorough modernist; no sooner does he evoke these old tunes than he pulls them apart and puts them back together again. There are seven nonet pieces (with Smith's wonderful, Mingus-like horn charts), two sextets, a quartet, a trio, a duo, and an unaccompanied sax solo. This is what Lester Young might have sounded like had he lived long enough to become David Murray. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

Very Nice CD (and that's not faint praise).......2001-05-13

An enjoyable album from beginning to end. Great ensemble players. Swings for sure. Wonderful (if familiar) tunes. Well recorded. Lovano's one of the best saxmen today.

As others have noted, nothing terribly new or innovative here. But so what? It's still a very fine, emotionally engaging CD.

Do yourself a favor, buy the originals.......2001-01-18

Hey, I love and admire the Tadd Dameron, Miles and the gang, but their music is still available and generally of better quality on their original recordings. Great line-up of musicians but my collection just doesn't need another re-work of say, "Tadd's Delight." So you want to hear "If You Could See Me Now" pick up "Send in the Clowns" by Sarah Vaughn and Count Basie - it'll blow your mind. Beyond that, Joe just doesn't cut it here artistically. His sound is off and he just seems to have nothing new to add. This one got old real fast for me.

Museum Piece.......2000-08-15

I couldn't disagree more with the official Amazon review. Not only is this a museum piece, it's a museum piece par excellence. Right down to the "live to analog two-track" recording. All heads are turned to look back and re-create some fine jazz from the past. And they succeed. It is good jazz. And it's a good museum piece. If you like your jazz in a museum.

Compare it to almost anything you can think of in the same traditional jazz vein. (Clark Terry's similar efforts for example -- try "Having Fun" which also has Lewis Nash on drums) or a more forward looking example (Steve Swallow's "Always Pack Your Uniform On Top"). Something vital is missing here, a spark, an edge, some sense of challenge, of looking ahead. Even a sense of enjoying the music. This one will sell millions and we'll all hear it in department stores and on elevators for a long time.

Museum piece par excellence.......2000-08-08

I couldn't disagree more with the official Amazon review. This is very much a museum piece. Right down to the retro recording technique - live to analog two-track. Even the arrangements have a historical feel. Oh it's fine jazz and it's a fine museum piece. It looks back lovingly and never looses focus. But something is missing. This music is stale. Because it is so focused on the past, the musicians are at ease. They are so much at home there is no sense of excitement, no edge. No fun. No challenge to the listener. It is sure to sell millions. Compare almost _anything_ in similar setting: e.g.Clark Terry ("Having Fun" even has Lewis Nash on drums) or similar bop vein: Steve Swallow ("Real Book" or "Always Pack Your Uniform On Top") The past should propel the music, not hold it captive.

Lovano's best.......2000-07-29

Joe Lovano delivers his best album so far, and that says a lot! This time Lovano focuses on the music of the forties and fifties, but as usual interprets it in his own way, along with a band that sounds so great you just end up playing the record over and over. Lovano, whose playing is rooted in the bebop tradition, here pays homage to his roots, and with so much heart and beauty and wit!

This is easily going to be among the absolute top jazz albums of the year!

If you're looking for beauty, classic elegance, lush arrangements, swing, cool phrasing, great songs and originality, look no further. Lovano is the man, and this is the album.

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