Comet Ride

WILLIE WILLIAMS: Comet Ride
Miles High, 2007

Excellent saxophone-led trio set by a cat who doesn’t get enough recording dates. Williams throws himself bodily into every tune, burning through explosive free-bop romps, weaving lines of soft romanticism and gauzy mystery, or digging incessantly at eighth-note phrases. This set is varied, accessible but edgy, recommended.

All tracks airworthy. Fo’s Picks: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7

1. 08:24 – yow! nonstop, breathless bebop roller-coaster. Great fun.
2. 03:18 – gentle soprano sax & bowed bass, with a lyrical tenor sax break
3. 08:24 – heavy-footed waltz becomes uptempo & giddy, calms back down
4. 06:25 – slow, moody ballad with free-jazz bursts & great trio interplay
5. 05:18 – bright & bouncy bop: spinning soprano sax lines
6. 07:40 – aggressive walking lines, swaggering tenor sax, burly bass
7. 15:36 – rollicking, funky medley of Eddie Harris/Jimmy Heath classics. Listen for Williams honking on two horns at once!
8. 04:03 – march: lots of down-home soul, some oddball twists
9. 07:04 – steady uptempo, roams around and burrows doggedly into phrases
10. 09:24 – standard with great rhythm, sax roams all over it; good stuff

[ Fo ] 19-Jan-08