Jimmy Greene Quartet - Live At Smalls

The live energy of a modern-day master

     

This is Jimmy Greene's first live release, 6th release overall as a leader, and, honestly, one of the heaviest, most well-rounded jazz records I've heard in years.
An accomplished performer with the likes of Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Barron, and Harry Connick, Jr., this live session serves to showcase Mr. Greene's talents as a composer and bandleader. The harmonic colors, form concepts and unison piano-bass figures on "Sense of Urgency" and "Soul Music" remind one of the mid-late 1960's compositions of Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, and Herbie Hancock, while "Bloomfield" could be mistaken for a long-lost late-50's Coltrane side. While the rhythm section can no doubt keep up with Jimmy on the more energetic cuts, the band (featuring pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Greg Hutchinson) shows its maturity as a collective on the more pastoral, spacious tracks- notably, "Self Portrait #1," on which Greene's tenor calls to mind early Wayne Shorter, as well as "Home," and the Thelonious Monk classic, "Ugly Beauty," which both allow us a chance to experience the leader's mastery of the soprano saxophone. This record is a classic in the making - don't miss out.