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Paul Carr: Straight Ahead Soul

By C. Michael Bailey

If saxophonist Paul Carr could be described in a single word, it would be durable. Carr's two previous recordings--Just Noodlin' (PCJE, 2008) and Musically Yours (PCJE, 2006)--displayed a dependable adherence to the Ray Charles' principles of rhythm and blues. His tone and attack are made of the same precious metal as that of Hank Crawford and David “Fathead" Newman. On Straight Ahead Soul, Carr does his part to move adult contemporary jazz toward respectability with the fussy and hard-to-please traditionalist. ...

Paul Carr: Musically Yours

By Michael P. Gladstone

Houston's tenor saxophonist Paul Carr has provided, within a short recording career span, a number of intriguing and solid appearances. On his debut, Just Noodlin' (Jazz Karma, 2006), Carr provides a soulful and robust tenor sax in the style of Hank Mobley without seeking any deliberate comparisons. In addition, with his appearance on Eric Byrd's Brother Ray (Self Published, 2008), Carr is one of the four-man sax section which pays homage to the Ray Charles Atlantic Records period. Carr is ...

Paul Carr: Musically Yours: Remembering Joe Henderson

By C. Michael Bailey

Listening to the music of tenor saxophonist Paul Carr, one recognizes that he has completely imbued the music of the late Joe Henderson, to whom he pays tribute on Musically Yours: Remembering Joe Henderson. Growing up in Texas under the spell of such “Texas Tenors" as Don Wilkerson and Arnett Cobb, Carr developed a big blusey tone.

Carr uses this to great effect as he draws the funk and blues out of the Henderson's compositions--performing them quite differently from how ...

Paul Carr: Musically Yours

By Edward Blanco

Remembering one of the great tenor masters of jazz, saxophonist and educator Paul Carr pays homage to the late Joe Henderson by offering an artful session of hard-driving bop with his third album as a leader on Musically Yours. He borrows the title from Henderson, who once autographed an album that Carr brought with him to a gig at the now closed Washington, DC jazz club, The One Step Down, where the saxophonist signed “To Paul, Musically Yours, Joe."

Paul Carr: Just Noodlin'

By Michael P. Gladstone

Growing up in Houston, saxophonist Paul Carr was rasised in the tradition of the Texas Tenors. His local heroes included Don Wilkerson and Arnett Cobb. Carr started his musical education at Texas Southern University and completed it at Howard University in Washington, DC. He has since spent more than twenty years as a dynamic part of the DC jazz scene.

Since Carr's debut album came out in 1993, he he has participated on over 25 other recordings. As ...

Paul Carr: Just Noodlin'

By Jack Bowers

Saxophonist Paul Carr is far too modest. If he's Just Noodlin', I'd love to hear what he could do if he ever buckled down and started playing in earnest. Carr and his front-liner partner, trumpeter Terell Stafford, remind me of the Brecker brothers, saxophonist Michael and trumpeter Randy--purposeful post-boppers with tons of technique and plenty of interesting things to say.

This is only the second album as leader for Carr, who has been gigging around the Washington, DC area since ...

Saxophonist Paul Carr: DC's Mister PC

By Matt Merewitz

Paul Carr is a saxophone and flautist deeply rooted in the hard-bop and blues tradition of jazz. He has a guttural “Texas Tenor” sound which stems from his childhood years growing up in Houston, Texas. While he has a stunning jazz improvisatory vocabulary, his ability to move an audience is his greatest asset. Arriving in the nation’s capital on a full merit scholarship to Howard University, Carr has been a presence on the DC jazz scene for just over twenty ...