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The Willie Williams Trio: Comet Ride
It has been a long wait for Williams since his last effort, also a trio album Ww3 (Enja, 1993). Prior to that was a more mainstream effort with Spirit Willie (Enja, 1992). One misgiving about Comet Ride is that the format is much the same, with Williams penning eight of the ten tracks.
The ambitious "Freedom Suite" links three jazz standardsEddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance," and Jimmy Heath's "Gingerbread Boy" and "CTA." Williams provides the intro and outro to the suite by simultaneous playing soprano and tenor sax, a la Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
There are very few moments of relaxation on the album. "Tenor Ballet" is a short ballad, a duet featuring Wang's bowed bass in duet with Williams that offers more of an eerie feel than a lyrical one, while "I'm Misunderstood" slows things down to a mid-tempo blues.
Yes, there are plenty of variations on a theme, making "Three Generations" an exercise in free-bop and "Leprechaun's Dance" spotlighting Williams' soprano. Duke Ellington's classic "Caravan" closes the album, including the rarely heard vocal bridge and offering something that many of the others tracks lacka strong melody line from which all the players sound better.
Track Listing
Comet Ride; Tenor Ballet; I'm Misunderstood; Three Generations; Leprechaun;s Dance; Changes of Heart; Freedom Suite: Freedom Jazz Dance, Gingerbread Boy, C.T.A, Freedom Jazz Dance Reprise; Mo' Grits; Philly Syndrome; Caravan.
Personnel
Willie Williams
saxophoneWillie Williams: tenor and soprano saxes; Gary Wang: bass; Rudy Walker: drums.
Album information
Title: Comet Ride | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Miles High Records
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About Willie Williams
Instrument: Saxophone
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