Search - Joshua Breakstone w, Tommy Flanagan & Jim Knepper :: Evening Star

Unique guitar-trombone jazz quintet succeeds

J. Levinson | Media, PA USA | 01/24/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Joshua plays jazz guitar in the bop tradition, with a reverbed hollow-body tone that dates back to Charlie Christian. His improvisations are interesting and the song lengths here, averaging over seven minutes, allow the soloists ample time to develop their ideas. Tommy Flanagan and Jimmy Knepper are the ringers here, and their presence elevates this session to be possibly Breakstone's best recording. His lone original composition on this set, "Child's Play" has a simple but pleasant melody. The obscure originals by Wes Montgomery and Barry Harris display the depth and authenticity of Breakstone's jazz scholarship, and they are revived effectively. Expertly captured by RVG, there are no aggressive, brassy tones here, just a mellow and subtly pleasing listening experience.

Joshua Breakstone - Guitar
Tommy Flanagan - Piano
Jimmy Knepper - Trombone
Keith Copeland - Drums
Dave Shapiro - Bass
Rudy Van Gelder - Engineer"