Gregg August Sextet: One Peace

One Peace indicates a new direction for August. While Late August took advantage of a number of high profile guest musicians including saxophonist Frank Wess and percussionists Ray Barretto and Wilson "Chembo" Corniel, One Peace presents August's working group, featuring only two holdovers—trumpeter John Bailey and altoist Myron Walden. For this occasion, two tenor sax men—Stacy Dillard and Yosvany Terry—are added on selected tracks, with Ravi Coltrane's pianist and drummer Luis Perdomo and E.J.Strickland rounding out the core group. Bass clarinetist Mike Lowenstern is added for "Cascading."

August's Latin side is gone entirely. The album consists of ten original compositions that provide a lot of solo time for the horns. Most impressive is Bailey's trumpet work, which seems to adapt well to both ballads and boppers. His melody and solo on "One for Louis" could have been lifted off on any number of albums during Blue Note's "golden age." Walden picks up the soprano sax for the warm and soulful "Cascading." August, as might be expected, gets in a fair number of bass solos, and his interaction with Strickland give a rousing pulse to these tunes.