Search - Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Shirley Scott :: Jaws

A worthy successor to coleman hawkins

T. H VonZabern | Boston, MA, USA | 10/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Huge sound, powerful playing in the tradition of the Hawk. Davis's sound is never reticent, nor does he resort to gimmicky technical displays. His embellishments are always discreet, appropriate and complimentary to the melodic line. He is ably accompanied by Shirley Scott on the organ, George Duvivier on bass and Arthur Edgehill on percussion. The arrangements, while dated in a sense, have a pleasing transparency to them, allowing Lockjaw's playing to stand out in the most apparently effortless way. The electric organ of the '50's can certainly sound tacky to our ears today, and it is to Shirley Scott's credit that she contains it so that it does not become annoying. Listen to Lockjaw's stupendous interpretation of "Body and Soul". Nobody ever achieved a more enormous and at the same time supremely warm sound, not even Coleman Hawkins. "I'll never be the same" is another good one. You won't be disappointed."