eMusic Review 0
Just because you've heard percolating post-bop like this before doesn't mean it has lost its capacity to dazzle. You can feel the passion and anticipation build as the groove to "Sequenza" narrows and intensifies: Pianist Danny Grissett comps hard on the chords, drummer Johnathan Blake battens down the classic snare drum-ride cymbal combination, and tenor Wayne Escoffery roars like a chainsaw, then tries to pause for some exultant shrieks but can't restrain his momentum. Only after that gushing climax begins to fade does Harrell — trumpeter, bandleader, composer of all eight songs — step in with a spirited but slightly more laconic solo, yielding in turn to Grissett. It is hard bop panache in its recognizable, refreshing essence, performed by satisfied, baton-passing pros exceeding their own high standard.
Harrell has amassed a trunkload of accolades during his 30+ years as a bandleader but on 2007's Light On and now Prana Dance, he's never sounded so complete, subsumed in the moments of his music, relaxed and yet alert. He's been troubled by schizophrenia most of his life, expressing little or no affect except when he's on the bandstand. But the prana in the title is a reference to a holistic… read more »
