Search - George Coleman :: My Horns of Plenty

A Grand Master re-invents standards What jazz is about...

NDBx | New York, NY United States | 11/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"George Coleman is one of the overlooked grand masters of the saxophone. He shone brightly on those early sixties recordings with Miles Davis often stealing the limelight and he hasn't slowed any since. Rarely do you find saxophonists that can play so well on tenor, alto and soprano saxophone without losing something, here is one cat that play 'em all. At first you would see the song titles and say... these all have been done so often...another collection of standards. Don't take a pass on this one. Mr. Coleman approaches this with such a fresh perspective. He improvises so well. He turns these pieces this way and that creating a prism effect and in so doing presenting them as the superb vehicles for improvisation that they are. Surprising is how good Mr. Coleman is on soprano. His tenor work is, as always, excellent. His alto work may start a whole new career for him. Mr. Coleman is well accompanied here with Ray Drummond on Bass, Harold Mabern on piano and the late great Billy Higgins on drums. These guys swing, they cook and they keep the fresh spirit of jazz alive. Mr. Coleman plays like a man a quarter of his age on this. He could teach the young cats a few new tricks. This one bears repeated playing."