Emmet Cohen: Master Legacy Series Volume 5 Featuring Houston Person

From its languid beginning, saxophonist Houston Person's own warmly engaging "Why Not?," to its closing, Etta James' slinky seduction "Sunday Kind of Love," Emmet Cohen's Master Legacy Series Vol. 5 Featuring Houston Person is a decidedly laid-back affair, unlike much of its predecessors which featured Jimmy Cobb, Ron Carter, George Coleman, Benny Golson and Albert Tootie Heath.

Maybe that is just the eighty-eight year old Person's influence. His big tone and big presence fill the studio with a master's calm, a master's flair for swing and blues. No need to rush it Person exudes. No need to rush it at all.

So the moonlight-shift swing of "Why Not" leads to Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart's 1932 charmer "Isn't It Romantic?" and it damn sure is. Cohen and Person make sure of it, while the ever faithful, ever reliable drummer Kyle Poole and bassist Yasushi Nakamura keep the rhythm low key and swaying. Cohen (who cannot hide his enthusiasm for everything he plays) trades with and bounces joyfully off Person, his enervating runs a true tonic for these less than great days.

Originally written for Sarah Vaughan, Tadd Dameron's uber-standard "If You Could See Me Now" gets a remarkably sincere reading, one which stands right up there with versions by Chet Baker, Bill Evans, and Dexter Gordon, to name just a few. Poole is in his glory here, holding steady when needed, then cooly bringing the swing. Person sails over the accompaniment, his horn holding true to the legends. A springing romp through Billy Joel's standard, "Just the Way You Are" keels and wheels, an up- tempo jump just when needed.

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios (and sounding absolutely vintage) Cohen thrives in these inter-generational sessions where jazz knowledge, tradition, and history are handed down eagerly and generously. Nakamura plays spot-on throughout, nothing too flashy, nothing too abstract, just inhabiting the pocket into which he and Poole fit most comfortably. Add Person sailing effortlessly over Duke Ellington's 1938 chart-topper "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart," "All My Tomorrows" (a Jimmy van Heusen & Sammy Cahn vehicle for Frank Sinatra) and a capering run through "Blues Everywhere" makes Master Legacy Series Vol. 5 Featuring Houston Person another top shelf effort in Cohen's growing, and glowing, discography.

Comments