Search - Duke Pearson :: Bags Groove

Duke bags it.

Cedric Westphal | san francisco, ca | 09/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Of all jazz forms, piano trio is my favorite. Ahmad Jamal, Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Mulgrew Miller, ...they all excelled in the form. The reason I bought this cd was because, while I have Duke Pearson sitting in a few sessions, I don't have any of him in a trio.



The one thing you should always give credit to Pearson is that he always add a few originals. Out of the 6 tunes (3 have an alternate take), he wrote 3. "Say you're mine" is a classical ballad, "le carrousel" is a med-up tempo song with a slightly latin beat by lex humphries. Thomas Howard is on bass, and I have to say I have never heard of him. He does not solo anyway and keeps his beat.



All tunes are satisfying, but some solos seem to lack a clear direction sometimes. Everything is very enjoyable nonetheless and flows quite smoothly.



The romante 'say you're mine', the catchy 'I'm an old cowhand',"

Duke Pearson is one groovy pianist -and composer

Brian Schiff | Detroit Mi. USA | 09/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Duke Pearson's soulful touch brings out of best in Milt Jackson's classic standard 'Bags Groove',Johnny Mercer's 'I'm An

Old Cowhand' in two takes and at a faster clip than Sonny Rollins

in his 'Way Out West' album-and I love what he did with 'Exodus'.The other three tunes on his album are his own compositions-'Say You're Mine','Le Carrousel'-and 'Jeannine'.The album includes two takes each of 'I'm An Old Cowhand','Say You're Mine' and 'Le Carrousel';not a biggie-but I just wish there were less takes and more variety."