From the Soul

With a style that blends the liquid sonorities of cool-school saxophonists like Stan Getz and highly inventive, post-Coltrane lines, Joe Lovano has emerged as one of the most consistently creative musicians in jazz. While it's possible to discern passing resemblances to Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, and Ornette Coleman, Lovano has an authentic voice of his own. Even his high harmonics are a mixture of gauze and grit. This 1992 session stands out for the superb band that Lovano has assembled, an unlikely ensemble that consistently fuels his multidirectional approach. Pianist Michel Petrucciani is a master of subtle harmonic improvisation, while drummer Ed Blackwell fuses counterrhythms and joyous parade drumming in a manner first developed within free jazz. The superb bassist Dave Holland seems to be knitting all the parts together from below as Lovano does the same above. The results are consistently exciting, whether the theme at hand is a standard ballad, a tune by Monk or Coltrane, or one of Lovano's brisk originals. --Stuart Broomer