Ben Leifer

Stephen Martin: High Plains

by Jack Bowers
February 5, 2022

Every so often, Missouri-bred saxophonist Stephen Martin bears witness to his main man, the late John Coltrane. But, for the most part, he is his own man on his second album as a leader, blowing hot, cool and earnestly on the quartet date, High Plains. Martin's disposition is decidedly contemporary, as he shows whether playing alone or with his special guests, alto saxophonist Bobby Watson (on Benny Golson's “Stablemates") or tenor saxophonist Matt Otto (on Otto's “Euphony"), two of the ...