Search - Bennie Wallace, Kenny Barron, Eddie Gomez :: The Nearness of You

Sublime, Mature, and Delightful

A. K. L. | Steilacoom, WA USA | 04/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bennie Wallace is an unsung hero of the tenor (see my Listmania of 25 Unsung Tenor Sax Heros). I've described his unique tone as Ben Webster sitting on a nest of fire ants. His playing is sensuous, virile, tender, humorous, and often very outside. Like David Murray, Wallace is a master of instantaneous register leaps from the lowest notes to altissima. This can make his music squirmy and unsettling at times, but not in this, his finest session to date.His drumless trio features the great Kenny Barron on piano and Eddie Gomez on bass. Gomez replaced Bill Evans' first bassist, Scott Lafarro, at the dawn of the 60's. He is now a sage of his instrument, playing with a tasteful yet profound resonance on the level of Ron Carter or Charlie Haden. Barron has done precisely this kind of recording before: intimate duets with tenor legend Stan Getz (See 'People Time'). He knows how to listen, to respond, and to exalt the melody without getting sentimental. Barron is perhaps the most mature ballad accompanist for any tenor player, the perfect choice for Wallace here. Like Sonny Rollins and the fore-mentioned David Murray, Wallace loves to deconstruct well-known melodies into threads of sound so surprising that they force you to discover new dimensions of old songs. (In fact, one of his best early recordings is called 'Old Songs.') Wallace has sometimes performed this task with manic eccentricity, but this CD is the work of a mature artist who does not need to startle anyone. His gentle unravelling of classic ballads becomes a meditation on the nature of music itself. This is a quiet but important statement by an under-rated giant of the tenor saxophone. No serious jazz fan should miss it."

Timeless virtuosity from a true jazz master

Wordsworth | Greenwich, CT | 10/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The tenor sax on this CD is absolutely masterful and is played with subtle nuances and self-effacing confidence and artistic seasoning that renders the jazz even more extraordinary. In "Come Rain or Come Shine" one immediately recognizes the genius of Wallace for invention in his improvisation. In "Willow Weep for Me" I swear to you that the sax not only wails but also gnashes its teeth. In the "Nearness of You," the title cut, the jazz is tender, seductive, heartbreaking and sweet beyond belief. The piano by Kenny Barron is remarkable in its sensibility and sheer technical accomplishment and blend in partnership with other players. Bennie Wallace stands with the great ones in his virtuosity on tenor sax in this CD. If you love jazz that captures in its performance the fullness of melody with all the intelligence and passion that the genre was meant to offer, this extraordinary and timeless CD belongs in your jazz collection. It will play as beautifully in 50 or 100 years as it does now."