Wayne Escofferey's third CD as a leader (and first for Savant) shows a focused musician who exudes confidence in every performance.
With a solid band including veterans Joe Locke on vibes and drummer Lewis Nash, plus bassist Hans Glawisching, the tenor saxophonist is heard in portions of two nights recorded at Smoke.
Following a brief solo introduction by Locke, Escofferey delivers the goods with a powerful take of Dizzy Gillespie' infrequently performed "I Waited for You," adding a wild improvisation by the vibraphonist.
But the pièce de résistance is a pair of Booker Little compositions, including a turbocharged navigation of "Bee Vamp" (first recorded at the Five Spot by Little in a band with Eric Dolphy and Mal Waldron) and an equally inspired treatment of "Looking Ahead" in which Escofferey's expressiveness reaches new heights.
The leader is also no slouch interpreting ballads, delivering a soulful take of "Isfahan" (with some delicious accompaniment by Glawisching).
Escofferey switches to soprano sax for his one original, a moody, captivating piece.
Beautifully recorded in the tiny New York City night club, this CD will easily stand the test of time.
Highly recommended!.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Waited for You | Wayne Escoffery & Veneration, Wayne Escoffery | Play | 09:44 | 22 MB | 63 MB |
| 2 | Bee Vamp | Wayne Escoffery & Veneration, Wayne Escoffery | Play | 07:20 | 16 MB | 48 MB |
| 3 | Skydive | Wayne Escoffery & Veneration, Wayne Escoffery | Play | 09:48 | 22 MB | 65 MB |
| 4 | Tell Me Why | Wayne Escoffery & Veneration, Wayne Escoffery | Play | 07:15 | 16 MB | 45 MB |
| 5 | Looking Ahead | Wayne Escoffery & Veneration, Wayne Escoffery | Play | 07:06 | 16 MB | 47 MB |
| 6 | Isfahan | Wayne Escoffery & Veneration, Wayne Escoffery | Play | 06:29 | 14 MB | 26 MB |
| 7 | Melody for Melonae | Wayne Escoffery & Veneration, Wayne Escoffery | Play | 13:31 | 30 MB | 90 MB |
| 8 | Locke's Vibe | Wayne Escoffery | Play | 01:37 | 3 MB | 5 MB |
| 62 mins | 143 MB | |||||
| 62 mins | 393 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David R. Adler | Liner Notes |
| 2 | Wayne Escoffery | Audio Production, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Producer, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor) |
| 3 | Wayne Escoffery & Veneration | Primary Artist |
| 4 | Joe Fields | Executive Producer |
| 5 | Hans Glawischnig | Bass Instrument, Main Personnel |
| 6 | Juan Carlos Hernández | Photography |
| 7 | Joe Locke | Main Personnel, Vibraphone |
| 8 | Lewis Nash | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 9 | Jon Rosenberg | Mastering, Mixing |
| 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). |