Tenor saxophonist Houston Person's playing has a lot in common with an ideally brewed cup of coffee. Both are bold, satisfying, smooth, eye-opening and addictive once experienced. Whether it be during smoldering blues-tinged numbers, up-tempo takes on old favorites, or sultry, late-night balladry, Person never fails to deliver a performance where expressivity reigns supreme. The band is made up of a group from Person's cadre of regular colleagues with guitar great Russell Malone adding his sensitive voicings and swinging rhythms to the mix. The album's title is an homage to the legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder. Person's first recording as a leader was done at Rudy's fabled Englewood Cliffs studio and they continued their friendship until Van Gelder's passing. But this is a not a backward-looking memorial album. That is not Person's style. Based on his performance schedule and his extensive discography, Houston Person, like his fans, is always looking forward to his next gig.
Houston Person is the real deal. With a lifetime of experience Houston continues to grace concert stages with his expressive style which stubbornly defies categorization. One moment he is letting loose with some hard-driving swing and the next he is caressing your ears with his mellifluous, baritonal utterances on a beautiful ballad. "I just play good music," explains Houston. "I look for a great melody and great lyrics." Houston's preoccupation with the art of melody is on full display in this live recording captured during his appearance at the Festival Jazz a la Villette in 2019. This is Houston's first live recording in some time and it is quite an unforgettable experience, with the legendary man taking great care in putting just the right set list together for his audience, covering a wide variety of styles drawn from his remarkable career. Having recorded his first album as a leader in 1966 titled Underground Soul, coincidentally also an organ-tenor quartet, Houston Person has been a standard-bearer of so-called "soul jazz," but that is a misnomer in his case. The truth is Houston plays soulful jazz rather than "soul jazz"; music that communicates with the listener and touches the heart. How appropriate it is then, that this live recording originates from Paris, also known as the "City of Love."
Houston Person is the real deal. With a lifetime of experience Houston continues to grace concert stages with his expressive style which stubbornly defies categorization. One moment he is letting loose with some hard-driving swing and the next he is caressing your ears with his mellifluous, baritonal utterances on a beautiful ballad. "I just play good music," explains Houston. "I look for a great melody and great lyrics." Houston's preoccupation with the art of melody is on full display in this live recording captured during his appearance at the Festival Jazz a la Villette in 2019. This is Houston's first live recording in some time and it is quite an unforgettable experience, with the legendary man taking great care in putting just the right set list together for his audience, covering a wide variety of styles drawn from his remarkable career. Having recorded his first album as a leader in 1966 titled Underground Soul, coincidentally also an organ-tenor quartet, Houston Person has been a standard-bearer of so-called "soul jazz," but that is a misnomer in his case. The truth is Houston plays soulful jazz rather than "soul jazz"; music that communicates with the listener and touches the heart. How appropriate it is then, that this live recording originates from Paris, also known as the "City of Love."
Houston Person may be one of the few still-active players in the long history of blues-drenched "boss tenors" that stretches back to Gene Ammons, Arnett Cobb, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Bullmoose Jackson and others. Person has long exhibited a keen ear for simpatico musicians, ranging from his classic partnership with Etta Jones, to his series of superb duo encounters with bass master Ron Carter the man chooses his company skillfully. This date is no exception, as he negotiates his tenor in the company of first class players. It's clear that his band mates took his studio-made admonition of "Right note or wrong note it's got to swing!" to heart for each one stands in complete harmony with Houston Person's noble intentions for this date.
This is a first-rate program of works for clarinet and strings. Tasha Warren brings these works to life, aided by a superb group of instrumentalists. Tasha Warren, assistant professor of chamber music at the Michigan State University College of Music, is an avid teacher and international performer. She has premiered numerous solo clarinet and chamber works working closely with composers and conductors including Shulamit Ran, Augusta Read Thomas, Cliff Colnot, and Oliver Knussen. She has recorded with Innova, Alba, and SCI Records, the I.U. New Music Ensemble, Hal Leonard Productions, CBC Radio, and PBC Korea Television. Crystal Records released her album, The Naked Clarinet, in December 2009, which garnered praise in reviews from International Record Review, Fanfare Magazine, The Clarinet Magazine and others.
