Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Brian Landrus Quartet: Traverse

155

Brian Landrus Quartet: Traverse

By

View read count
Brian Landrus Quartet: Traverse
The baritone saxophone: a low-down, honking, raw and randy piece of musical metal, isn't it? What about the baritone saxophone as a romantic, seductive and rather beautifully mellow instrument? Not so likely? Well, once it's placed in the hands of Brian Landrus, the romantic side of the instrument isn't just likely, it seems to be exactly how it was destined to sound. Landrus is a master of this rather unwieldy instrument, and leads a top-flight quartet on Traverse, a set of richly creative original tunes that reaffirms his Rising Star award in the 2010 Downbeat Critics Poll.

Traverse is straight-ahead jazz, melodic and accessible. This approach is somewhat in contrast to Landrus' previous Forward (Cadence Jazz Records, 2010), which drew on a wider range of styles. As a result, Traverse is equally stylish but perhaps more consistent and more immediately accessible. Pianist Michael Cain was also on Forward, but here Landrus and Cain are joined by a new bass and drums partnership: the vastly experienced and talented Lonnie Plaxico and Billy Hart, who both ensure that the tunes swing with passion.

The slow and smoky "Soul and Body" is a Landrus solo performance which clearly demonstrates his control, tone and command of the baritone's full range. It's followed by the quartet's take on Johnny Green's "Body and Soul," featuring Plaxico's lovely bass solo, as well as more exceptionally fine lead baritone from Landrus. On "Gnosis," Landrus moves over to bass clarinet, his playing just as impressive, while Cain delivers a sparklingly percussive solo. The album closes with the brief but beautiful "Soundwave," a slightly mournful duet between Landrus and Cain.

Traverse is the first release on Landrus' own BlueLand Records. Establishing a new record label may well seem like a rather risky step in these straightened times, but Traverse is a great debut for the label and bodes well for its future—and for the future of the baritone sax.

Track Listing

Traverse; Gnosis; Lone; Lydian 4; Soul and Body; Body and Soul; Creeper; Soundwave.

Personnel

Brian Landrus
saxophone, baritone

Brian Landrus: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet; Michael Cain: piano; Lonnie Plaxico: bass; Billy Hart: drums.

Album information

Title: Traverse | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: BlueLand Records

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.