Longtime friends Scofield and Friesen reunite for a somber take of "Old Folks" and a brighter "True Blue," Brecker's tenor sax joins the bassist for a great, spirited version of the Sonny Rollins classic "Airegin" and the heavy duty, hip neo-bop original "Signs & Wonders," with the two occasionally merging in tandem phrases. A final track for bass and piano with the brilliant Zeitlin allows them to interpret the great Wayne Shorter composition "Speak No Evil" over nine minutes with a symmetry and balance unparalleled in most duet recordings, especially over long lengths of time via the wonderfully inventive acoustic keyboardist. Garrett leads a sextet with less dominant trombonist Julian Priester, a pronounced Bill Frisell and sublimated Robben Ford on electric guitars. They do the sly Duke Ellington evergreen "Wanderlust" proud under a deep bassline by Anthony Cox, while the outstanding track of the album "The Oyster Dance" slips from 7/8 time to fractured beats at will in a funky yet scattered method quite reminiscent of Thelonious Monk. Another quintet with Steve Nelson and Mulgrew Miller offers up a different sonic challenge, as they do pianist Miller's "Wingspan" in hard bop fashion with Garrett's alto alongside Nelson's vibraphone in fully charged bright moments, while "Sonhos Do Brasil" offers a contrasting, sleek, and softer bossa nova style, with percussionist Rudy Bird as special guest. The listening skills of the larger ensembles is quite evident, while Garrett -- at this time a 27-year-old phenom -- is still learning his craft but growing very quickly in the company of these well-chosen super-pro partners. Drummers Jerry Granelli and Tony Reedus are especially notable for rhythmically moving things along quite nicely for Garrett and friends. This material deserves high marks simply for the great musicians participating, and though uneven, retains full intrigue in one-of-a-kind session status, any of which could have been full-blown concepts -- one of which (sigh) might have been a Garrett-Brecker project that is not here. - Michael G. Nastos
Tracks
1. Old Folks (Dedette Lee Hill/Willard Robison)
2. WanderlustJohnny Hodges/Duke Ellington)
3. True Blue (David Friesen)
4. Airegin (Sonny Rollins)
5. Signs and Wonders (David Friesen)
6. Speak No Evil (Wayne Shorter)
7. Wingspan (Mulgrew Miller)
8. The Oyster Dance
9. Sonhos Do Brasil (Kenny Garrett)
KENNY GARRETT alto saxophone
BILL FRISELL banjo, guitar
ANTHONY COX bass
CHARNETT MOFFETT bass
DAVID FRIESEN bass
DENNY ZEITLIN grand piano
JOHN SCOFIELD guitar
JERRY GRANELLI drums
TONY REEDUS drums
ROBBEN FORD guitar
RUDY BIRD percussion
MULGREW MILLER piano
MICHAEL BRECKER tenor saxophone
JULIAN PRIESTER trombone
STEVE NELSON vibraphone
Recorded May 11, 1987 & April 16, 1994
West Wind - WW 2120 Germany