Search - Hannibal Peterson :: One With the Wind

As accomplished a player as you're ever going to find

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 06/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Is it possible to be too talented? Take the case of Marvin ?Hannibal? Peterson. Not only is he at the very top rank of trumpeters of his generation (he was born in 1948), he is also a very accomplished composer of longer jazz-classical forms, most notably African Portraits and The Flames of South Africa, as well as more conventional short jazz pieces. Blessed with prodigious technique as well as being a fiery soloist, he combines the fat tone of Freddie Hubbard with the brilliant logic of Woody Shaw resulting in perhaps the signature trumpet sound of the mid-seventies through mid-nineties. Yet today he languishes in obscurity. Such are the fortunes of being a first-rank jazz musician.One with the Wind strikes me as absolutely essential jazz: Peterson at the top of his form; Joe Ford, long a member of Jerry Gonzales? great Fort Apache Band, himself a fiery player, on alto and soprano and proving an exceptional choice; the hugely underrated Michael Cochrane on piano; Cecil Brooks III on drums (and organizer of this session); and a young Lonnie Plaxico on acoustic bass laying down some righteous bottom sounds. Mix in some brilliant originals like ?Nile?s Song? and the title cut with startling treatments of standards like ?God Bless the Child? and ?Misty,? and you?ve got the formula for a classic, right? Apparently not. No one paid much attention when it came out, and they?re paying even less attention now. The jazz world is littered with dazzling musicians who never achieve the recognition they deserve. Why do you think so many jazzmen, such as Steve Lacy, Mal Waldron, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, John Betsch, and numerous others, either moved to Europe or spent much of their lives playing over there, where they received due recognition for their genius. With the possible exception of Bobby Watson, Hannibal Peterson may be THE most underrecognized jazz musician alive. Why not do your bit to rectify this deplorable situation by purchasing this phenomenal disc? In any case, this session is not to be missed by any serious jazz fan."