Search - Steve Wood :: Deep Woods

Contemporary Mainstream

06/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A wonderful CD. I got hooked because it is Mainstream jazz with contemporary influences. Especially "Donna Lee" is outstanding."

Contemporary Mainstream

06/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a wonderful CD. I got hooked on it because it is traditional mainstream with modern influence. A collection of Detroit's best musicians. Wonderful. "Donna Lee" is my personal favorite.Joe"

Great traditionalist jazz

finulanu | Here, there, and everywhere | 09/15/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, so I've got massive biases here. Tenor saxophonist Steve Wood, the leader of the Steve Wood Quartet and one of the most respected figures on the Detroit jazz scene, happens to be my sax teacher. So I might be rating this record a tiny bit higher than I would if it was by anyone else, although this is the kind of stuff I'd like regardless of whose name was on it. Steve listens to a ton of Coltrane, specifically Coltrane circa 1959-1961, I love John Coltrane. He even covers a song from the classic Coltrane's Sound, "Central Park West", and does a great job of it - he also covers "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", and stays pretty faithful to Coltrane's arrangement while playing it (which, you may note, was also on Coltrane's Sound), and it's really good, especially Steve's lower-register playing. And I like that a lot. Both songs, that is. Steve's a top-flight player, but it's not just him: the whole band can play. Paul Keller takes a great solo on "Weaver of Dreams" (which to be honest is probably a bit too long, though not glaringly so), Ron Jackson keeps a steady rhythm and plays some interesting percussion throughout; and Phil Kelly does quite a job channeling Tommy Flanagan with his complex harmonic structures. I mean, I don't even care that I've heard this approach taken to jazz several times before, because these guys do their thing so well I'm perfectly ready to hear it again. To be honest, though eight of the nine tunes are covers, I'm only familiar with three: "Central Park West" and "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", as well as Herbie Hancock's gorgeous "Dolphin Dance", which the group also does a spectacular job on. But I like their interpretations of most these songs, though I don't have much to compare them to. "Invitation" is as warm and comforting as the title implies; the fast-paced "Voyage" is a blast; and "Comes Love" has a slightly corny melody but a cool piano part. The only original, written by Steve, is "ODRP Blues", and I think it's fantastic. The sheets-of-sound approach is really impressive, and it's got a catchy melody. I don't think I'm an enormous fan of the Charlie Parker cover "Donna Lee", though it's definitely listenable. My biggest issue here, then, is that all the songs sound the same: "ODRP Blues" and "Voyage" are the only two clean breaks from the regimented sound. Still, if you're in the market for some traditionalist jazz, this is good stuff! I don't know if it's sold outside of the Detroit area, so maybe my point is moot, but look up corridorrecords.com and see if it's for sale there, because it's worthy of purchase for anyone who's into small-group jazz. Or for people who know Steve Wood personally, like me."