Tenor saxophonist
Seamus Blake
, who was 24 at the time, is in excellent form on this creative
post-bop
set. He is teamed with the atmospheric and inventive guitarist
Kurt Rosenwinkel
, pianist
Kevin Hays
, bassist
Larry Grenadier
, and drummer
Bill Stewart
on seven originals (including
"Nobody's Song but His Own,"
"Mercy Days,"
and two versions of
"Vanguard Blues"
),
"Prelude to a Kiss,"
and
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."
At this early stage in his career,
Blake
already had a pretty original sound on tenor and a good tone on soprano. One of the highpoints of the set is
"Zydeco,"
which, although sounding nothing at all like
zydeco
music, features some particularly passionate playing from
. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow