As talented tenors in the
Ben Webster mold, both
Scott Hamilton and
Harry Allen can easily obtain exciting results fronting their own quartets. Putting exciting musicians together, however, is a guaranteed method of keeping the creative juices flowing and kicking the excitement lever up another notch.
Hamilton and
Allen do just that on
Heavy Juice, an album overflowing with the kind of sax work that would make
Zoot Sims and
Stan Getz proud. The title track is a breezy, up-tempo number that begins with a snazzy base rhythm laid down by drummer
Chuck Riggs, pianist
John Bunch, and bassist
Dennis Irwin.
Allen and
Hamilton take turns soloing before entering into an enticing exchange of lead lines that offers just a taste of things to come. While
Heavy Juice is an obvious show for the two tenors to cut loose, the band runs a tight ship and never allows melodies to outstay their welcome. Most of the pieces --
Dizzy Gillespie's "Groovin' High" and
Duke Ellington's "Warm Valley" -- run six and seven minutes.
Hamilton and
Allen also leave room for some fine solo work from
Bunch.
Heavy Juice closes with a nice, long rendition of
Gillespie's "Ow!," bringing a well-executed album to a satisfying end. For anyone who has ever missed
Webster and
Sims,
Heavy Juice will conjure up warm memories. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.