Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Matt Garrison - Saxophone: Blood Songs

4

Matt Garrison - Saxophone: Blood Songs

By

View read count
Matt Garrison - Saxophone: Blood Songs
Presenting a primarily original repertoire of sparkling modern jazz, New York saxophonist Matt Garrison follows up his critically acclaimed debut, Familiar Places (DCLEF, 2011), with Blood Songs, an audacious musical tribute to his loving parents. With the exception of producer/trombonist Michael Dease, Garrison assembles a new all-star list of players, including veterans like saxophonist Eric Alexander and trumpeter Greg Gisbert, who mix it up well with young, up-and-coming stars including pianist Roy Assaf and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr., Jr.

The opening "The Madness Within" offers a spicy taste of what's in store; though brief, it features a hot soprano solo from Garrison, with Dease and guitarist Dave Kain adding to the excitement. Garrison's tenor voice comes out loud and clear on "Trajectory," in an expansive solo highlight, before Gisbert weighs in with some of his own blistering shouts. In obvious reference to his mother, the upbeat, melody-rich "Mom's Song" features Garrison on baritone—the first calypso he's ever written.

The fires burn brightly on Gisbert's "Modern Man," showcasing hard-driving steamy solos from Garrison, Dease and, of course, the heated trumpeter. Dease contributes the beautiful bossa nova-styled "Force," one of the session's most outstanding pieces, featuring more bright spots from the trombonist and the leader, as well as warm lines from guitarist Andrew Swift (his only appearance). The blistering "Interrupted" is the album's centerpiece, with Garrison and Alexander—both on tenor and on fire—delivering memorable solos and trading salvos like two old galleon warships trying to blow each other out of the water.

Composer/lyricist Harry Warren's "The More I See You" sounds quite different from the original, with Garrison's lovely rendition borrowing from saxophonist Hank Mobley's take on this immortal standard. Garrison's closing "Hospital Room Blues" was written while visiting his ailing father in the hospital and is marked by Gisbert's high-pitched trumpet, and Garrison's bluesy display set against a swinging rhythm section, with propulsive posturing from Owens, Jr. and Assaf's deft right-hand accompaniment.

There are times when an artist is able to put together the right combination of musical talent, excellent writing and outstanding performances, and when he does, a successful outing is usually the result. That can definitely be said of Garrison and his impressive Blood Songs, an album where the highlights are many and the outcome is just too good to overlook. Perhaps Garrison should bottle the DNA strands from this set and clone his next project.

Track Listing

The Madness Within; Trajectory; Mom's Song; Modern Man; Force; Interrupted; Parental Units; The More I See You; Hospital Room Blues.

Personnel

Matt Garrison: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone; Greg Gisbert: trumpet, flugelhorn; Michael Dease: trombone; Roy Assaf: piano; Dezron Douglas: bass; Ulysses Owens Jr.: drums; Eric Alexander: tenor saxophone (6); Dave Kain: guitar (1); Andrew Swift: guitar (5).

Album information

Title: Blood Songs | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: D Clef Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




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

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

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.