Search - Scott Hamilton :: Jazz Signatures

Here's a soulful tenor saxophonist navigating a familiar set of standards, ballads, and uptempo bop. But on Jazz Signatures, Scott Hamilton always sounds fresh and inspired--he never phones it in. From the opening "Raincheck," to Hank Jones's bittersweet "Angel Face," Hamilton makes swinging easy a breeze. He captures the grace of Johnny Hodges and Zoot Sims and revels in the luster of an agile combo who match his every move with an effortless swing that would've made Frank Sinatra dance a jig. Along the way, we get Latinized with Fats Waller's rambunctious "Jitterbug Waltz" and Don Byas's "Byas a Drink," go bebopping with "Move," and groove the Cali-strut on Benny Carter's "When Lights Are Low." Hamilton's ballad playing is equally sensuous, sounding devil-may-care on "If You Could See Me Now" and playful on Illinois Jacquet's "You Left Me All Alone." But it is on Jones's "Angel Face" that Hamilton is at his most moving, framing the 2 a.m. melody as a soaring cry of remorse and regret, tempered with a nod to tomorrow, and rebirth. --Ken Micallef