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A Young Sax Player With A Distinctive Style

John Tapscott | Canada | 05/07/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Though the liner notes for "Grant Stewart +4" provide little biographical information, it seems that Grant Stewart is a well-traveled and highly experienced tenor saxophonist in his 30's. His style is rooted in hard bop and he is certainly up to the level of the first-class band assembled for this CD. Stewart's tenor sound is quite remarkable. While many younger tenor players opt for a harder, cutting sound, Stewart's sound is softer and very attractive, especially on ballads. It is quite personal too, and while there are certainly traces of Gordon, Mobley and Cohn in his sound, it's hard to pinpoint any particular tenor player Stewart sounds like. Put this personal sound together with Stewart's flowing, melodic improvisations and it doesn't take long to know that you are listening to a very impressive young tenor saxophonist.



The program for this straight ahead CD contains no great surprises and leans mainly on standards such as "Yesterdays", "You Leave Me Breathless", and the ballad "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" (which is a particular highlight of the CD). The originals by Al Cohn ("You and Me"), and his son Joe Cohn ("Cohn on the Cob") take us deep into swinging bop territory. "Limehouse Blues" is a uptempo romp on which Stewart really shows off his impressive tenor chops. Jobim's "Sabia" and the standard "Lonely Town" are fine performances but don't seem quite as inspired as the other tracks.



The "+4" (guitarist Joe Cohn, pianist Bill Charlap, bassist Paul Gill and the swinging drummer Willie Jones 111) are particularly supportive and cohesive, especially for a group that came together in the studio (though Stewart has played many live gigs with guitarist Joe Cohn). Indeed, in this group Cohn is nearly as up front as Stewart, sometimes playing the melody in tandem with the tenor man and adding some strong and often blazing guitar solos. Charlap is a cooler, less extroverted soloist than Cohn but the contrast between them makes for a nice balance of styles. But at the end of the day no one steals the show from the leader Grant Stewart. This very well recorded 60 minute CD is warmly recommended and if you enjoy the music of Dexter Gordon, Hank Mobley and Sonny Stitt, you will surely enjoy this outing by Grant Stewart.

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