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In the course of his career, Tom Harrell has left his mark across
a wide range of styles, including propulsive bebop, rhythmic
Afro-Cuban jazz, studied classical compositional procedures and
soothing smooth jazz. In any Tom Harrell performance or recording
you will search in vain for Freudian high-note jabs and dazzling
displays of over-heated velocity full of empty technique. There's
a remarkable ease and affability to Oak Tree, a recording which
features melodies that occasionally sound as inevitable as life
itself. And these melodies are played by a quartet which may be
one of Harrell's most symbiotic ensembles; the fluency of superb
pianist Luis Perdomo sometimes providing extensions and commentary
to Harrell's improvisational thoughts, the extremely musical
drummer Adam Cruz constantly adjusting both his tone and the
intensity of his pulse as each composition dictates and bassist
Ugonna Okegwo a secure, steady anchor and superb improviser. As
for the leader himself, he favors concise, intense solos where the
supremacy of his improvising abilities lies as much in what he
chooses to leave unsaid as what he allows to peal forth from the
bell of his horn. You can write volumes and use any superlatives
you like to describe Harrell's playing but, simply put, he is one
of those rare figures who has extended the communicative
possibilities of the jazz trumpet while establishing himself as
one of the art form's most important composers.
TOM HARRELL, trumpet & flugelhorn (tracks 4,5
& 8) Luis Perdomo, piano & Fender Rhodes (tracks 2, 4
& 6) Ugonna Okegwo, bass Adam Cruz, drums
TRACKS
Evoorg Fivin Oak Tree Tribute Zatoichi Sun Up Improv
Shadows Archaeopteryx Robot Etude Love Tide
Evoorg
Fivin'
Shadows
Love
Tide
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