On his seventh date as a leader, trumpeter
Wallace Roney is clearly shaking the comparisons to
Miles Davis, even while covering some of the same ground as the late jazz legend. Backed by his talented wife,
Geri Allen (who is a gifted composer and adventurous bandleader herself), bassist
Christian McBride, and first-call drummer
Kenny Washington,
Roney's fresh look at
Davis' "Solar" is well worth investigating, while the spirited rendition of
Charlie Parker's "Ah-Leu-Cha" features
Washington driving the leader and guest tenor saxophonist
Ravi Coltrane, while adding some wild arco bass by
McBride. The performance of
Clifford Brown's timeless "Daahoud" is fairly straightforward by comparison, though it sizzles in any case. The most intriguing choice is the moody ballad "Smooch" (co-written by
Davis and
Charles Mingus), which is all but ignored by most players investigating
Davis' vast recorded legacy. This is easily one of
Wallace Roney's best CDs, though it has been out of print since the sale of Muse and it is getting difficult to acquire. ~ Ken Dryden