Hudson Star
George M. Gutwirth | Tampa, Florida | 01/14/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This may be Brecker's best album - making it the best of the best. It reminds of the midfifties and sixties, a very high point in jazz. when I first became a fan. At that time, at that age, one simply assumes successors to the greatest will come along; but of course with art that good and difficult, in a form not highly popular and requiring nurture, its not that easy, it doesn't just happen. On this album, such jazz comes back. Beau Rivage (track 4), with its Monk-like segments, most resembles that great jazz. To me, Brecker's playing on that track, on African Skies(# 5) and Naked Soul (#7) is at the highest possible levels of sax performance, very reminiscent of Coltrane's best work, with all the inventiveness, spirit and immeasurable skill required for such playing, and also with discipline and coherence lacking in Coltrane's final stage work."
Music That Changed My Life!
Oded Fried-Gaon | 10/30/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"WOW, what a recording. Michael Brecker (may he rest in peace!), as everyone who heard him knew, had his own style and tone, and could be recognized pretty quickly. he stood out from the beginning, along with his brother, Randy. "We're Only Human", although commercial, is a very funny funky and great song. rare, for a jazzter. This recording, as i'm sure has been pointed out is choc-full of brilliant musicians like Dave Holland and DeJohnette and Tyner. wonderful ensemble playing classy and intelligent music. This is a reminder of the great talent we will all miss, but who left us many gems, this one not excluded. Moody yet moving, flowing, just like the Hudson River on whose banks he walks on the cover of the cd, this music is diverse in its offering, from ethereal to funky, just like his life's recording - also as a guest on many, many other recordings that vary extraordinarily."
The Stars Deliver
Jinkyu | 01/16/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Michael Brecker, who performs versatile tenor sax work, wrote most of the songs and assembled an all-star cast for this CD. Start with the rhythm section: That's Dave Holland on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums behind the grooves. Listen to "Song for Bilbao": If you think that sounds like a Pat Metheny song, you're right, and that is Pat with a screeching guitar solo; he also plays on all the other songs. McCoy Tyner, whose piano work I really liked on Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" and "Ole," endears himself to me again on two numbers: "Bilbao" above and the dynamic "African Skies." Joey Calderazzo is the piano person on the other tracks, including his own "Midnight Voyage," one of the highlights. "Tales from the Hudson" concludes on a feverish pace with "Cabin Fever," as Brecker's sax and other instruments rocket at a blistering pace. The tempos vary, but never the quality of the jazz, as this CD shows that when Brecker puts his mind to it, he can succeed."