jazzandblues.blogspot.com
TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010
Ralph Bowen – Due Reverence (Posi-Tone, 2010)
This is a nice confident jazz album filled with compelling solos and well versed ensemble playing. Ralph Bowen plays tenor saxophone and leads the ensemble with Adam Rogers on guitar, John Patitucci on bass, Antonio Sanchez on drums and Sean Jones sitting in on trumpet for one track. “Less is More” opens the album with a mellow and patient groove and Bowen building a well constructed and thought out solo. Rogers guitar keeps the music moving nicely with well developed mid-tempo swing. “This One’s For Bob” has a burning tenor saxophone solo along with some fleet and nimble guitar buoyed by a tenacious bass and drums groove. “Phil-osophy” slows things back down to a medium simmer and Rogers turning in a nice, nimble feature and Patitucci contributing a fine bass solo. Jones enters the fray for “Mr. Scott,” adding his bright and burnished sound to prominent solos from saxophone and guitar. The album ends on an interesting note, with Bowen playing the title track unaccompanied. He has a patient and reverent sound on tenor making for a very impressive performance. Fans of straight up mainstream jazz will enjoy this quite a bit, Bowen has an excellent pedigree as a leader and a sideman with the like of Horace Silver and many others, and this is another fine addition to his discography.
This is a nice confident jazz album filled with compelling solos and well versed ensemble playing. Ralph Bowen plays tenor saxophone and leads the ensemble with Adam Rogers on guitar, John Patitucci on bass, Antonio Sanchez on drums and Sean Jones sitting in on trumpet for one track. “Less is More” opens the album with a mellow and patient groove and Bowen building a well constructed and thought out solo. Rogers guitar keeps the music moving nicely with well developed mid-tempo swing. “This One’s For Bob” has a burning tenor saxophone solo along with some fleet and nimble guitar buoyed by a tenacious bass and drums groove. “Phil-osophy” slows things back down to a medium simmer and Rogers turning in a nice, nimble feature and Patitucci contributing a fine bass solo. Jones enters the fray for “Mr. Scott,” adding his bright and burnished sound to prominent solos from saxophone and guitar. The album ends on an interesting note, with Bowen playing the title track unaccompanied. He has a patient and reverent sound on tenor making for a very impressive performance. Fans of straight up mainstream jazz will enjoy this quite a bit, Bowen has an excellent pedigree as a leader and a sideman with the like of Horace Silver and many others, and this is another fine addition to his discography.