Search - :: Two Sides to Every Story

A Real Bop Romp

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

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I believe that this album by jazz trumpeter Tiger Okoshi was available as an XRCD disks from JVC; however, my copy of Two Sides to Every Story is a "normal" JVC CD--but it still sounds awfully good, awfully good indeed. Okoshi heads a tight quintet consisting of himself on trumpet plus Mike Stern on electric guitar, Gil Goldstein on piano, Dave Holland on bass, and my main man Jack DeJohnette on drums. This group is capable of playing at high energy levels without ever sounding frazzled, and the music is a real bop romp, mixing a few standards ("On Green Dolphin Street," "Yesterdays," "My Old Kentucky Home") with a cover of a Japanese song ("Yuki No Furu Machi O") plus some Okoshi originals. The result is a fine set of acoustic jazz in crystal-clear sonic splendor."