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Grant Stewart: Young at Heart
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Sharp Nine owner/producer Marc Edelman wasted no time getting Stewart back in the studio, and he wisely decided there was no need to retool a winning formula. On Young at Heart, once again, Stewart is joined by pianist Tardo Hammer, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Joe Farnsworth.
The record is every bit as good as its predecessor in part because of Stewart's ability to sound at ease and establish his own identity on different kinds of material and at various tempos. There's stability and depth to his playing that sets him apart from a host of well-known, thirty-something tenor stylists who blow convoluted to a fault.
The tenor saxophonist's thoughtful interpretations of songs by Duke Ellington, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Neal Hefti, and others are complete in themselves. He lingers on the melodies instead of merely using them as a springboard for improvisation. Throughout the head of the title track, for example, Stewart deliberately moves thorough Hammer's lively accompaniment. A subdued rendition of "You're My Thrill" conveys a quiet resignation.
Stewart's style of improvising is fresh, uncluttered, and cliche free. On medium and up tempo tracks like "Roll On," "Serenade to Sweden," "Shades of Jackie Mac," and "Jet Stream," he invariably plays a steady, evenly paced stream of ideas. One favorite device is burrowing into the rhythm section's thrust for an extended period before briefly easing up and gliding over them. Throughout the ballad "Modinha," Stewart's gift for spontaneous melodic invention is more pronounced, and so is his dramatic range. At one important juncture, he falls silent for what feels like an eternity before reaching a brief climax.
Track Listing
Young at Heart; You're My Thrill; Roll On; Shades of Jackie Mac; Repetition; Serenade to Sweden; Modinha; Jet Stream.
Personnel
Grant Stewart
saxophone, tenorGrant Stewart: tenor saxophone; Tardo Hammer: piano; Peter Washington: bass; Joe Farnsworth: drums.
Album information
Title: Young at Heart | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Sharp Nine Records
Comments
About Grant Stewart
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
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