Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Joe Lovano: 52nd Street Themes

253

Joe Lovano: 52nd Street Themes

By

View read count
Joe Lovano: 52nd Street Themes
Although there are only ten artists and three of them share the tenor saxophone chair, Joe Lovano’s latest Blue Note album is a big band affair made possible by gifted arranger Willie "Face" Smith. Compositions by Tadd Dameron and other well-known bebop legends from the 52nd Street era represent lovely mood-setting devices for each soloist. And each member of the band has a chance to solo. It’s Lovano’s distinctive tenor that carries most of the solo responsibility, and he’s inspired. After all, bebop was there to nurture all of these guys, either in-person or on recordings.

Lovano does some solo free-thinking for "Abstractions on 52nd Street" as a solo piece, while both Dameron’s "The Scene is Clean" and Billy Strayhorn’s "Passion Flower" appear in small ensemble settings. Elsewhere the big band sound kicks up a storm, fronted by hot solo work, witnessing conversations of traded sixteens, and washing dance music all over the place. Lovano’s tribute to 52nd Street legends captures a genuine mood and expresses it through an all-star lineup.

Track Listing

If You Could See Me Now; On a Misty Night; Sippin' at Bells; Passion Flower; Deal; The Scene is Clean; Whatever Possess'd Me; Charlie Chan; Theme for Ernie; Tadd's Delight; Abstractions on 52nd Street; 52nd Street Theme; Embraceable You.

Personnel

Joe Lovano
Joe Lovano
drums

Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone; Steve Slagle: alto saxophone; George Garzone: tenor saxophone; Ralph Lalama: tenor saxophone; Gary Smulyan: baritone saxophone; Tim Hagans: trumpet; Conrad Herwig: trombone; John Hicks: piano; Dennis Irwin: bass; Lewis Nash: drums.

Album information

Title: 52nd Street Themes | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

Tags

joe lovano CD/LP/Track Review Jim Santella Blue Note Records United States 52nd Street Themes

Comments

Joe Lovano

About Joe Lovano


Instrument: Drums

Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar

PREVIOUS / NEXT


Charles Gayle
< Previous


Art Pepper
Next >



Joe Lovano Concerts

Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Still We Dream
Still We Dream
Josh Lawrence
All It Was
All It Was
Olie Brice
Live at The Village Vanguard
Live at The Village Vanguard
Jakob Bro
Damage Control
Damage Control
Gary Bartz & NTU

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.