Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Pete Yellin: Mellow Soul

107

Pete Yellin: Mellow Soul

By

View read count
Pete Yellin: Mellow Soul
Nowhere near as mellow as its title suggests, this is a lively blowing session by veteran saxophonist Pete Yellin and an all–star supporting cast who seem perfectly happy to close ranks behind the leader and let him take the lion’s share of the bows. Which is only right, as it is Yellin’s gig, despite the imposing presence of trumpeter Henderson, saxophonist Herring and a world–class rhythm section comprised of such acknowledged masters as Corea, Leitch, Swartz and Allen (all of whom Yellin chose for the date). Yellin, who has been a mainstay on the New York scene for years and is coordinator of Jazz Studies at Long Island University, was influenced first by Art Pepper, later by Joe Henderson, and one can hear echoes of both in his playing, although he has long since developed his own pleasing voice on alto and soprano. Yellin is also a pretty good writer of Jazz tunes, and five of the nine songs here are his including the title cut, “Shaw Thing” (dedicated to a former classmate at Juilliard, the late trumpeter Woody Shaw), “Song for Lynn” (for his wife), “Dr. J” (for Joe Henderson, not Julius Erving) and a cleverly remodeled version of “Limehouse Blues” entitled “LIU House Blues.” Completing the program are Herring’s “Folklore,” Duke Ellington’s “Warm Valley” and the standards “You’re My Everything” and “The Touch of Your Lips.” Ray Noble’s evergreen is a highlight, with Yellin’s alto reinforced by Leitch, Swartz and Allen, as is “Warm Valley” (Yellin, alto, Leitch and Swartz). Leitch is a consistently forthright swinger, and Corea seems especially relaxed and cheerful in this context, really digging in hard on his several solos. As for Swartz and Allen, tastefulness is their middle name. No eye–opening sketches on this drawing board, but more than an hour of invigorating post–bop Jazz.

Track listing: Mellow Soul; LIU House Blues; You’re My Everything; Shaw Thing; Folklore; Warm Valley; Song for Lynn; The Touch of Your Lips; Dr. J (63:42).

Personnel

Pete Yellin
saxophone

Pete Yellin, alto and soprano saxophone; Eddie Henderson, trumpet; Vincent Herring, saxophones; Peter Leitch, guitar; Chick Corea, piano; Harvie Swartz, bass; Carl Allen, drums; Louis Bauzo, percussion.

Contact: Metropolitan Records, 317 Madison Avenue, Suite 2310, New York, NY 10017.

Album information

Title: Mellow Soul | Year Released: 1999

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

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

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.