Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Miles Donahue: In The Pocket
Miles Donahue: In The Pocket
ByDonahueone of the few jazz players who double on reeds and trumpetplays mostly alto sax on this set; and while the disc's title suggests a contained and 'in the pocket' affair, that suggestion is only half right. The tunesten of the eleven are Donahue-pennedmight go with a groove, but Donahue is a soloist of extraordinary creativity inventiveness; and when tenor sax man Jerry Bergonzi joins him, the results are doubly-stunning.
Donahue's alto approach is intense, his solos full of surprisesloops and swirls and eddies and churning currents. He plays with Art Pepper's urgency, George Coleman's inventiveness within the geometry of the composition, and Jackie McLean's strung-tight edginess.
In The Pocket is mainstream jazz, at its highest level, thanks in good measure to Donahue's arranging skills. Each and every tune has a sparkle and polish, similar in attitude to the George Coleman/Ned Otter collaborations Danger High Voltage and So Little Time.
A consistently sharp-edged set of straight ahead sounds. Highlights: just about any solo by Donahue or Jerry Bergonzi, anywhere on the disc; "4D's and a G" for the Jerry Bergonzi/ Donahue tenor/alto interplay; "Kelneka" for pianist Fred Hersch's eloquent solo.
Mainstream jazz doesn't get much better...
Visit Miles Donahue on the web
Track Listing
In The Pocket, Kelneka, McEjim, 4 D's and a G, Emma's Song, Lights Out, All the Way, A Sometime thing, Waitin' for the Ice Cream Man, In the Pocket, Emma's Song-reprise
Personnel
Miles Donahue
saxophone, tenorMiles Donahue, alto sax, tenor sax, trumpet, and keyboards; Jamey Haddad, drums; Fred Hersch, piano; Jay Anderson, bass; Jerry Bergonzi, tenor sax; Ricardo Monzon, percussion; Kurt Rosenwinkle, guitar; Dan Greenspan, bass; John Paul, guitar
Album information
Title: In The Pocket | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Amerigo Records
< Previous
Syncopated Taint Septet
Next >
Rule Of Three
Comments
About Miles Donahue
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar To