From his days as a stalwart in the original Saturday Night Live television band through his major role with
the Phil Woods Jazz Orchestra and numerous New York City sessions,
Lew Del Gatto has produced far too few albums as a leader. His excellent 2000 Naxos release
Katewalk and this effort in tribute to the saxophonists and performers he admires have come far between each other, but the results are satisfying nonetheless. His tenor sax playing is close to flawless (check out his perfect tone on "Stanley's Time," for
Stanley Turrentine), exhibiting the finest core values of his predecessors while choosing material that challenges most standard interpreters' notions of stock repertoire. With the still extraordinary, quite capable veteran pianist
Don Friedman, acoustic (not electric for this date) bassist
Bob Cranshaw, and stalwart drummer
Mickey Roker,
Del Gatto has a most professional ensemble of seasoned bopsters to swing with until the night is done and gone. There are four tracks where
Del Gatto teams up with
Frank Wess, reflecting the best blow-by-blow tenor saxophone battles from days of old, and they are all a sheer delight. "Tickle Toe" sounds like a twin dose of
Lester Young personified, while "Did You Call Her Today?" is a simple, easy swinger naturally in the
Count Basie mode but also echoing mellow tones of
Duke Ellington. The
Gene Ammons-
Sonny Stitt flag-waving tandem is perfectly represented on the get-down jam "Blues Up & Down," while the original "Mr. George" has the symmetry and joyous blues-chasing attitude exemplified by its initial makers,
Al Cohn and
Zoot Sims. Needless to say,
Del Gatto and
Wess are happily and firmly in their element. The lengthiest quartet track is a nearly ten-minute "Sonny Medley" of "Doxy," "St. Thomas," and "Airegin" that is not so much seamless as it is precious, with
Friedman only joining in on the last number.
George Young's "Omelette" is the coolest of blues as penned by
Del Gatto's longtime SNL teammate, sporting a marvelous bass solo by
Cranshaw, while "Fin de l'Affaire" is
Hank Mobley's revered but obscure ballad, revived in deep beauty by the tenor man.
Harold Land's "Lands End" is for connoisseurs of the soulful West Coast saxophonist from his days with
Clifford Brown, and "People Time" is the classic contemporary theme of solemn, stoic proportions, written by
Benny Carter and popularized by
Stan Getz. For "Last Train from Overbrook,"
Del Gatto not so much mimics its author,
James Moody, as he embellishes the humor and jovial nature of the composer's well-defined personality through
Del Gatto's eyes and ears. The leader has promised a second volume of works from more jazz icons, but this recording will be known not so much for who was left off as for the brilliant musicians
Lew Del Gatto has followed in definitive giant footsteps.