Present Tense was born out of two very specific desires.
First, saxophonist James Carter wanted a precise recorded portrait of where he was at as a musician, aesthetically and technically.
Second was producer Michael Cuscuna's dead-on assertion that Carter, for all his instrumental and aesthetic virtuosity, had never been represented well on tape.
Carter's inability to resist overdoing it on virtually everything he records (ten-minute solos in standards, etc.) makes that point inarguable.
Cuscuna proves to be the perfect producer -- as both ally and foil -- and reins Carter in to benefit the recording as a whole.
The band on Present Tense is solid: the young trumpeter and fellow Detroiter Dwight Adams, pianist D.D.
Jackson, bassist James Genus, and drummer Victor Lewis round out the quintet, with percussionist Eli Fountain and guitarist Rodney Jones playing on three cuts each.
The program is wide-ranging and eclectic, but it locks.
It offers a portrait of Carter as an exciting traditionalist who can stretch arrangements and previous interpretations to the breaking point, without simply making them egotistical statements about him as a soloist.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rapid ShaveDave Burns | James Carter | Play | 07:31 | 17 MB | 49 MB |
| 2 | Bro. DolphyJames Carter | James Carter | Play | 07:15 | 16 MB | 44 MB |
| 3 | Sussa NitaJames Carter | James Carter | Play | 06:05 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 4 | Song of DelilahRay Evans, Jay Livingston, Victor Young | James Carter | Play | 05:12 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 5 | Dodo's BounceDodo Marmarosa | James Carter | Play | 06:06 | 13 MB | 33 MB |
| 6 | Shadowy Sands | James Carter | Play | 08:31 | 19 MB | 44 MB |
| 7 | Hymn of the OrientGigi Gryce | James Carter | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Bossa J.C.James Carter | James Carter | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 9 | TenderlyWalter Gross, Jack Lawrence | James Carter | Play | 08:18 | 19 MB | 45 MB |
| 10 | Pour Ma Vie Demeure | James Carter | Play | 05:08 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 63 mins | 145 MB | |||||
| 63 mins | 376 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dwight Adams | Flugelhorn, Main Personnel, Trumpet |
| 2 | Jim Anderson | Engineer, Mixing |
| 3 | Dave Burns | Composer |
| 4 | James Carter | Clarinet (Bass), Composer, Flute, Primary Artist, Sax (Baritone), Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor) |
| 5 | Leif Covington | Package Coordinator |
| 6 | Michael Cuscuna | Audio Production, Producer |
| 7 | Ray Evans | Composer |
| 8 | Eli Fountain | Congas, Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 9 | James Genus | Bass, Guitar (Bass), Main Personnel |
| 10 | Fanny Gotschall | Art Direction |
| 11 | Walter Gross | Composer |
| 12 | Gigi Gryce | Composer |
| 13 | Rafaela Hernández | Package Coordinator |
| 14 | D.D. Jackson | Main Personnel, Piano |
| 15 | Rodney Jones | Guitar, Main Personnel |
| 16 | Jimmy Katz | Photography |
| 17 | Rick Kwan | Assistant Engineer |
| 18 | Jack Lawrence | Composer |
| 19 | Victor Lewis | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 20 | Jay Livingston | Composer |
| 21 | Dodo Marmarosa | Composer |
| 22 | Rebecca Meek | Package Design |
| 23 | Brian Montgomery | Assistant Engineer |
| 24 | Django Reinhardt | Composer |
| 25 | Mark Wilder | Mastering |
| 26 | Victor Young | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |