Tenor saxophonist
Javon Jackson deserves a lot of credit for stretching himself on this release. Although he can sound very close to
Joe Henderson at times, on this set he interprets a wide-ranging repertoire that allows him to avoid falling into the revivalist hard bop category. In addition to a pair of originals (the medium-uptempo blues "Hamlet's Favorite Son" and "Assessment" which is dedicated to
Elvin Jones),
Jackson performs songs by the likes of
Egberto Gismonti,
Frank Zappa,
Muddy Waters ("Country Girl" which has a vocal by
Cassandra Wilson),
Freddie Hubbard,
Charles Mingus, and
Hank Mobley (a delightful rendition of "Recado Bossa Nova"). Most of the selections (even the two that include organist
Lonnie Smith) utilize a sparse background with the versatile guitarist
Fareed Haque, bassist
Peter Washington, and drummer
Billy Drummond leaving plenty of space. This surprisingly modern and subtle program is one of
Javon Jackson's finest to date. ~ Scott Yanow