mike.holmes's Full Review: Plays The Music Of Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhor...
I was lucky to see Grant Stewart in person in Midland, Texas when he played with a group that included fellow sax player Harry Allen. This is my second review of a Grant Stewart CD and, once again, the young man from Canada (originally) has impressed me with his tremendous tenor sax playing.
Born in Toronto in 1971, Grant started out playing jazz with his father who was a high school teacher and a semi-pro guitarist. Grant started out on the alto sax at 10 and was playing professionally at 14. He switched to tenor sax at 17, moved to New York City at 19 and started playing with such notables as Clark Terry, Harry Connick, Jr., Bill Charlap and Al Grey. Grant counts Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Don Byas and Lester Young as his biggest influences.
What I really like about Grant's playing is that he can play with the powerful sound of a Rollins (or Coleman Hawkins) but he also has a very modern style of his own. That is obvious on this new CD which features a few of the better known Ellington/Strayhorn songs but also includes some of their lesser known works.
Joining Grant on the CD are Tardo Hammer on piano, Paul Gill on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums.
The album opens with a Billy Strayhorn original, "RAINCHECK", which the excellent liner notes by Tom Reney point out was written while Duke Ellington could not perform his own songs due to a strike. Sonny Rollins performed the song in 1951 and Grant follows Sonny's changes on this performance. The song is an up-tempo number which features Grant's incredible improvisational ability. He literally flies all around the main theme as Tardo comps behind him and the rhythm section pushes him along. As with most excellent musicians, Grant sits out for several bars as Tardo plays a fine piano solo. As with all of the songs on the CD, there is ample time for stretching out the solos.
Ellington's "TONIGHT I SHALL SLEEP" is a gorgeous ballad that Duke wrote in 1943. As the liner notes point out "Stewart's sumptuous tone underscores Duke's observations that 'night life is cut out of a very luxurious, royal-blue bolt of velvet'." And, my, oh, my, is that tone rich and full of passion. This is truly a masterful work of art by a young man who can communicate the song's message through his horn. Even though the song is a ballad, Grant at times plays a flurry of notes that boggles my mind. Tardo, who is best known as a be-bop pianist, proves he can play "straight" jazz beautifully on his solo here. Wonderful performance.
"ANGELICA" by Ellington is a song that I had never heard before. It was originally titled "Purple Gazelle" and was featured on an Ellington album with John Coltrane. Here, Grant with Farnsworth's drumming turns the song toward a very Latin-tinged style. The song is full of life and features more tremendous improvisational playing from Grant. He gradually increases the tempo to a rollicking level that has me smiling and shaking my head. Man, can this cat swing!
"I LET A SONG GO OUT OF MY HEART" BY Ellington and Irving Mills is one of the better known songs on the CD. The song opens with a modern arrangement before moving into the familiar theme which follows a more modern approach to the song that is usually heard. The liner notes point out that Grant is more familiar with a Thelonious Monk recording of this song and there are dissonant Monk-like influences here. Most noteworthy, once again, is Grant's ability to start out fairly slow in a straight statement of the theme and then increase the tempo to a supersonic level. Tardo gets some great licks in on his piano solo which echoes the tempo change. I would love to see this group in person.
Another standard by Ellington and Mills is next. "IT DON'T MEAN A THING" (IF IT AIN'T GOT THAT SWING) has been covered by almost every jazz artist of any note. I've heard it often but seldom, if ever, this fast. Grant literally races through the song without ever really "hiding' the main theme of the song. This reminds me a little of the way Charlie Parker played alto sax. This is a stunning performance that just has me wondering "how in the hell does he play like this?" Amazing.
The rest of the CD maintains this excellent style and performance. The other songs are:
"SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR" by Ellington and Strayhorn-a gorgeous ballad played beautifully by the group-shows off Grant's lush tone
"THE STAR CROSSES LOVERS" by Ellington and Strayhorn-Johnny Hodges (who had the most beautiful tone on alto sax that I've ever heard) played this song in the '50's. The gorgeous ballad is in the great "tenor" hands of Grant here and sounds soulfully beautiful.
"THE FEELING OF JAZZ" by Ellington, Simon, and Troup is a great blues-oriented ending for the CD. Sweet.
Mr. Stewart plays in NYC most of the time although he's also played throughout much of the world. If you get a chance to see him in person, I thoroughly recommend that you do so. Meanwhile, I also recommend this great treatment of the Ellington/Strayhorn partial songbook.
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