Accurate Title: New Directions for Old Tunes
John Russon | Toronto, ON Canada | 10/27/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is (was) a very young band of very hot players. I recommend it highly both to listeners with a broad background in jazz and to those without. Those with a background will recognize all the tunes: Song for My Father, Recorda Me, Beatrice, Three Way Split, etc. They are all great jazz tunes, redone in a hip style. Those without a background will encounter a set of great compositions, played in a very engaging manner. The rhythm section grooves--hear especially the odd time-feeling of Recorda Me--the soloists are hot, and most of all the arrangements are novel and exciting. Greg Osby's alto playing is great, and the piano playing of Jason Moran is a special highlight. It is a CD that you can easily listen to many times over. I recommend it."
New hope for the future of jazz.
jazzfanmn | St Cloud, MN United States | 02/25/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The past couple of years, the year 2000 especially, have been a boon for the jazz fan. A swell in long out of print classics being reissued, a major televised documentary on the history of the artists and music that put jazz back in public eye but was a mixed success to the hard core fan, vital new music from legendary veterans such as Roy Haynes, Sonny Rollins, Andrew Hill, and Dave Holland, and a string of fantasic cds by "a new generation" of muscians like the men featured on this cd give the jazz fan a new hope for the art form's future. The lineup is packed with exciting young talent lead by the "elder statesman" of the group Greg Osby on alto with Mark Shim on tenor, Stefon Harris on vibraphone, the talented Jason Moran on piano, Tarus Mateen on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums. "New Directions" harkens back to the classic era of Blue Note sessions that often saw the lable's stars performing on each other's albums. While this cd may not be up to the calibre of the original releases that featured much of the material performed here, it is a solid work with many refreshing outlooks on some of the classics of Blue Note's past. Nowhere on this cd is that more obvious than on Osby's skewered arrangement of Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder". Osby somehow managed to take the boogaloo classic, twist it so that it sounds like a soundtrack from a fevered dream, and still have it drive and swing as hard as the original. "The Sidewinder" also features a fantasic solo by the young and exciting Jason Moran. This is a great cd as an introduction to the individual musicans as well as a fine set of music on it's own, and has left this listener excited for more music by these rising stars."
Solid Arrangements of Standard Blue Note Tunes
jazzfanmn | 07/29/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've become a true Greg Osby fan. This year he issued two albums, "Invisible Hand" and "New Directions". "New Directions" is superior, in my view. Mr. Osby is quickly becoming (if not already) one of the most innovative and influential musicians of our generation. He possesses a warm, confident tone, and his phrasings and timing are unorthodox but impeccable. As a result, he has developed a distinct voice.Although I consider him an "outside" player (sometimes playing notes outside of the scales normally associated with the chord changes), he always has a tonal center and therefore always sounds musical and makes sense. My criticism of many "outside" players is that they sometimes lack a tonal center and wander as if they don't know what they are doing. By contrast, Greg Osby is consistently innovative, and his unorthodox interpretations bring new life to otherwise standard tunes.This album demonstrates his excellent abilities both as an arranger and improviser. The group of musicians, most notably Stefon Harris, are top-notch. This CD has a well-conceived and executed concept."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1