Reedmen Who Blow Hot and Hotter; The Latest From Holloway, Garrett & Stewart; Big Leaps Forward in the Sax Race

The Washington Post
7/21/1996
Mike Joyce

Reedmen Ron Holloway, Kenny Garrett and Robert Stewart all extend the jazz saxophone tradition in their new albums, but each does it in his own way.

As much as these young musicians owe Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Stanley Turrentine and other sax giants, their music retains its individuality by delivering a distinctive blend of emotion and ingenuity.

Holloway's aptly titled "Scorcher" (Milestone) is the most eclectic, a free-spirited session of bop, ballads, calypso, funk and rap. It's a better reflection of Holloway's concert performances than his two previous Milestone recordings. Even during his most exuberant passages, Holloway develops finely honed interplay with his bandmates.

A case in point is "The Everywhere Calypso," a beaming and bouncy Caribbean reverie composed by Rollins. While Holloway's keening tone and rhythmic swagger provide plenty of luster, the tune's simple, sunny allure inspires exceptionally deft solos and exchanges from Holloway and guitarist Paul Bollenback. In fact, Holloway couldn't ask for a more attentive collaborator than Bollenback on the album.

Holloway has surrounded himself with other fine players. On "Sidewinder," the Lee Morgan hit, Hammond organist Joey DeFrancesco, trumpeter Chris Battistone and drummer Byron Landham help establish a deep, cushioned soul groove for the saxophonist's pungent tone. On Ron Carter's "81," Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay" and a Charlie Parker-inspired treatment of "How High the Moon," Holloway and his colleagues freshen familiar themes, with bassist Tommy Cecil's supple pulse enhancing the music's intimacy and drive.

Holloway collaborates on two cuts with his former bandleader, Gil Scott-Heron. The results are mixed, thanks to Scott-Heron's halfhearted vocals on "Is That Jazz?," but he contributes a convincing version of his social commentary "Blue Collar." For a coda, Holloway brings on rappers M.C. Rip and Shorty Bones to deliver "The Pulse," a cautionary inner-city blues tale underscored by an imaginative blend of hip-hop and jazz.