Search - Ralph Sutton, Jim Galloway :: Pocketful of Dreams

Swinging Chamber Jazz

B. D. Tutt | London, UK. | 10/13/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A predictably excellent trio session featuring soprano saxophonist Jim Galloway and the great stride pianist Ralph Sutton, recorded live in Toronto in 1997.Galloway is a first rate jazz musician, his style intriguingly combining a rasping angularity reminiscent of Pee Wee Russell with a boppish coolness, whilst Sutton is a top class accompanist, expertly supporting Galloway and driving things along on the up - tempo numbers. Don Vickery on drums is reasonably unobtrusive, which is the most one can hope for. Highlights including a swinging "She's Funny That Way" and a stormimg "Farewell Blues".One caveat: is it a municipal requirement for Toronto jazz clubs to have dreadful pianos? The Cafe des Copains had a tinny instrument that sounded like a cross between a harpsichord and a doctored ragtime piano. The Montreal Bistro, whiere this album was recorded, features a similar (or possibly the same) instrument. One wonders why jazz clubs hire top class pianists and then make them perform on such decrepid instruments.That apart, strongly recommended to all mainstream jazz lovers."