George Garzone: Themes For Good Friends

Tenor saxophonist George Garzone's album Themes For Good Friends is especially satisfying because the musicians involved seem to be simply enjoying the music, with nothing to prove. In the beautifully recorded session at Van Gelder Studios, Garzone has surrounded himself with fellow masters, including trumpeter Randy Brecker, pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Santi Debriano and drummer Jeff Tain Watts, each of whom sounds like an old friend, listening closely and taking chances.

The album opens quietly with Fred Lacey's "Theme For Ernie," featuring Garzone and Perdomo alone. Garzone's tenor is warm, rounded, and remarkably intimate. Perdomo answers rather than accompanies, leaving small pockets of silence between phrases. Then comes Archie Shepp's "U-Jaama," and suddenly the room opens up. Watts drives the composition, with Debriano keeping the bass line moving beneath. Garzone and Brecker trade ideas with the confidence of musicians who know when to push and when to step back.

"It Will Happen To You" is Garzone's playful take on Jimmy Van Heusen's "It Could Happen To You." The familiar harmonic foundation becomes a buoyant swing vehicle, with each player taking a turn, sounding completely spontaneous while revealing the astonishing command of their instruments.

Now John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" is something else entirely. The duo of Garzone and Watts take his composition head-on, dismantling its harmonic structure from the inside out. Rather than a conventional reading, the performance unfolds as an adventurous conversation between tenor sax and drums, largely withholding the familiar melody until the closing moments.

What makes these performances particularly revealing is Garzone's triadic chromatic approach, the improvisational language he has developed over decades. Without getting into the weeds, this method has become part of his musical reflexes, prompting him to hear harmony from several directions at once and make quick melodic decisions. That same restless curiosity informs his writing, evident on the final two tracks, both of which are Garzone originals.

The first is "The Mingus That I Knew," an affectionate, mischievous musical recollection of an encounter Garzone had with Charles Mingus at the Village Vanguard, when, not recognizing him, he asked him to put out his cigar during an intermission. The piece showcases Garzone's characteristic ability to let melody, harmonic surprise, and personality coexist.

The closing track, "To Michael Brecker," provides the album's emotional heart. After Watts's dynamic introduction, with Randy Brecker beside him, Garzone avoids the expected sentimental tribute. The tenor and trumpet share the melody almost continuously, as though two musicians are remembering a friend together. It is restrained yet deeply moving, and all the more powerful for not succumbing to overstated emotion.

Throughout the album, Garzone's sound consistently retains its unique character, blending curiosity, lyricism, and a vibrant energy.