Bobby Hutcherson: For Sentimental Reasons

The jazz faithful know many sides of Hutcherson. There's the Blue Note sideman of the 1960s sprinting with the hard bop young lions Hank Mobley, Grant Green and Freddie Hubbard. Then there is the "new Thing maverick, accompanying Andrew Hill, Eric Dolphy and Jackie McLean. There are those who cherish his standing toe-to-toe with the fierceness of Harold Land's horn. Certainly some of you will have a few scary fusion records he made, tucked in the back of a closet.

Fans of his duets with McCoy Tyner on 1993's Manhattan Moods (Blue Note) will certainly appreciate this outing. He chose longtime collaborator Al Foster (drums) and Dwayne Burno (bass) to provide the platform for these simple gems. Pianist Renee Rosnes plays the role of the caring counter-and-response to Hutcherson's ringing notes.

Like the opener, "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons, nothing here is rushed or complicated. Rosnes, like Hutcherson, dances single notes over complex chords. Benny Golson's lush "Along Came Betty bounces along, while the often rushed Fats Waller classic "Jitterbug Waltz is slowed (just a bit), as if to reflect, not upon the dexterity the song takes, but its beautiful architecture. In the hands of a jazz giant like Hutcherson, the very simple presentation of Rodgers and Hart's "Spring Is Here and Gershwin's "Embraceable You are pure treasures.

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