New Music Fridays
Jeff Rupert / George Garzone – “The Ripple” RUPE MEDIA
When you look at the iconic careers of legendary jazz artists like Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Wayne Shorter and Joe Henderson, as well as others, all can in some way, be it minimally or profoundly, claim they were influenced by Lester Young. Called the most profound improviser since Louis Armstrong, Young, or “Prez,” as he was called by Billie Holiday, influenced not only saxophonists but also pianists, trumpeters and trombonists through his impressive his body of work. “The Ripple” is a tribute to Lester Young and the profound influence he had on the traditional jazz genre. While “The Ripple” contains no covers of songs actually recorded by Young, there are covers of the aforementioned artists, and others, who did cover Young’s recordings. There are also two original works by Rupert. Joining Rupert on sax is Garzone and having two saxophones makes things very interesting at times. Both play off each other without being greedy and when combined with the remaining instrumentation, makes for a stellar work. I got the impression I was hearing this work in a really cool jazz club rather than my audio room. All said, this is a magnificent work of traditional jazz. While smooth jazz may be my overall favorite, this one makes a strong case for a different perspective.
Overall: 9.5
Sonics: 8
