Label: Sunnyside Records, 2023
Personnel - Jerome Sabbagh: tenor saxophone; Kenny Barron: piano; Joe Martin: bass; Johnathan Blake: drums.
Favoring straight-ahead jazz flavors and plain structures over complex modernistic approaches, the new outing by French-born, New York-based saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh, Vintage, is a tribute to tradition and jazz heroes. One of them, the veteran pianist Kenny Barron, is in this quartet, assuring a lusty rhythm section with younger yet accomplished foundation connoisseurs such as bassist Joe Martin and drummer Johnathan Blake. The saxophonist was struck by Barron’s playing as a teenager in a Paris concert by saxophonist Stan Getz. This marks his first work as a leader with piano as harmonic accompaniment, after years working with guitarists Ben Monder and Greg Tuohey.
The hooky title cut is a Sabbagh hard-bop-fueled piece motivated by nostalgia, slightly latinized at the end, and marked by hot improvisations from saxophone and piano. The two men at the center deliver two elegant ballads in duo - Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower is a Lonesome Thing” and Monk’s “Ask Me Now”, the latter of which closes the album on a nice relaxed note. There’s more Monk before that, with a playful, groovy rendition of “We See”, whose theme is expressed in unison with Barron. The pianist shows artistry in the stride piano comping that follows.
Tadd Dameron’s classic “On a Misty Night” advances with a cool, breezy flow and a no-holds-barred bop posture. Sabbagh seems channeling Getz and Rollins; Barron is harmonically explicit; Martin’s bass lines assure a fluent stream; and Blake’s zealous brush technique vouches for timekeeping.
The saxist's considerable compositional acumen can be heard in “Slay the Giant” and “Elson’s Energy”. The former number embraces a composure that recalls Yusef Lateef, while the latter, written with a childhood friend in mind, arises as a post-bop knockout with a Brazilian rhythmic feel.
This studio date satisfies without dazzling, showing youthful vigor within the classic jazz style but not exactly experimenting new pathways. It certainly would have benefited from more original material, and yet, the repertoire here was logically chosen and gracefully expressed.
Favorite Tracks:
04 - Elson’s Energy ► 05 - Slay the Giant ► 06 - We See