Search - Tiger Okoshi :: Echoes of a Note

Spellbinding

Karl W. Nehring | Ostrander, OH USA | 08/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some readers might be familiar with New Orleans trumpeter Leroy Jones, whose Props for Pops is a delightful tribute to legendary New Orleans trumpeter Louis Armstrong. You may have already guessed that Okoshi is not a Crescent City native, but Tiger considers himself one of "Pop's boys," and Echoes of a Note is a tribute to Satchmo, featuring many of the same Armstrong-related tunes featured on Jones's CD, but done in a much different style.

On this CD, Okoshi is supported by Stern on guitar, Goldstein on piano and accordion, plus Bela Fleck on banjo, Jay Anderson on bass, and Peter Erskine on drums. This all-star ensemble pays tribute to Armstrong by recasting his music in bop form. Satchmo's notes are there, but as echoes, not as re-creations.

The overall effect is spellbinding, and the music is aided by the sonic quality, which is again razor-sharp without ever sounding the least bit bright or hard. The net result is a CD that can be played over and over and over again, each time yielding new delights--just like Leroy Jones's CDs, but yet so different, too. What a wonderful world, indeed!"