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Carl Saunders: Jazz Trumpet
ByLeading an A-list quartet rounded out with pianist Josh Nelson, bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Joe La Barbera, Saunders designs a well-mixed collection of classics and originals that pleases without pushing the envelope or resorting to gimmickry. These four need no tricks to sell anything. For them, it's simply about the music, good time(s) and great taste. Making an energetic entrance with Joe Henderson's "Recorda Me," Saunders and company make clear that they mean business. Four other wholly familiar nuggetsa joyful "All The Things You Are" with La Barbera trading in good spirits, the solidly swinging "I Thought About You" with a muted Saunders charming his way through the changes, a reasonably-paced "Cherokee" bookended by its flowing bridge, and the delightful "Pick Yourself Up"spread additional good cheer.
With the exception of the appearance of trumpeter Tom Harrell's "Sail Away"a cool-headed, bossa-esque beauty that's become a latter-day standardeverything else remaining in the set comes from Saunders' fertile pen. From the blues, spied in sly fashion on "Say What," to quiet charms, packaged in balladic dressings on "Patience," to light-touch bop, given over through "Tofu Or Not Tofu," he makes his mark as a composer with an ear for quality melodies and structural nuance(s). Putting that warm, almost flugelhorn-like trumpet sound to good use, and encouraging his band mates to add their gifts to the music, Saunders delivers a record that's really all smiles. It's far too easy to fall for Jazz Trumpet.
Track Listing
Recorda Me; All The Things You Are; Say What; Sail Away; I Thought About You; Flim Flam; Patience; Cherokee; Tofu Or Not Tofu; Dusk And Dawn; Pick Yourself Up, Walking On Air.
Personnel
Album information
Title: Jazz Trumpet | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Summit Records
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Carl Saunders
Stan Kenton
Ella Fitzgerald
frank sinatra
Bill Holman
Gary Urwin
Phil Norman Tentet
Roger Kellaway
Larry Koonse
Josh Nelson
Chuck Berghofer
Joe La Barbera
Joe Henderson
Tom Harrell