(Contemporary Jazz, Post-Bop) Joe Sanders (with Will Vinson, Luis Perdomo, Rodney Green, Gretchen Parlato) - Introducing Joe Sanders - 2012, WEB, FLAC (tracks), lossless

Criss Cross is proud to present the leader debut of bassist Joe Sanders, who is most widely known on the international scene for his long association with pianist Gerald Clayton's Trio, and is often heard with the best and brightest of his New York City peer group, of whom he convenes three --- pianist Luis Perdomo, alto saxophonist Will Vinson, and drummer Rodney Green (rising star vocalist Gretchen Parlato joins the mix on Sanders' A Joy and Sorrow) --- for a diverse recital comprising 7 strikingly melodic, harmonically sophisticated originals that cover a range of stylistic food groups, as well as 2 jazz standards (Cedar Walton's Hindsight and Pat Metheny's Question and Answer) and a songbook chestnut (The Things We Did Last Summer).
Deploying a formidable tone and enviable facility, Sanders authoritatively guides the flow, focusing on ensemble imperatives even during his virtuoso solos, which set a high bar that his colleagues match throughout.

Here we have the debut album for the young up & coming acoustic bassist Milwaukee native Joe Sanders. Joe in his late 20s resides in the fertile jazz scene of NYC & has been very active as a sideman appearing with many of his peers on the scene Christian Scott appearing on Live at Newport also laying it down behind tenor sax man Walter Smith iii on III his longest running sideman gig is with pianist Gerald Clayton's trio their latest work Bond: The Paris Sessions showcases Sanders as an equal voice in the music.
That brings us to Introducing Joe Sanders. Joe has put together a tight quartet to realize his music. On alto english man Will Vinson in my opinion keeps sounding better everytime I hear him. Vinson blows taut lines with nay a note wasted, he has power & melodic freedom on the up tempo tunes & can also distill his musical statements to get right to the heart of a tune on ballads. On drums is veteran sticks man Rodney Green who for me is a pleasure to listen to as he seems to have no trouble hooking up with the leader & swinging the tunes into the stratosphere. Luis Perdomo is playing piano & fender rhodes, a long time member of saxophonist Ravi Coltrane band has just recently released his debut as a leader Universal Mind.
One thing I noticed within minutes of the opening tune "Enigmatically Decided" an up tempo post bop styled burner is that the players share a relaxed chemistry with eachother that makes for a highly recommended listening experience. The band comes charging out of the gates with Perdomo improvising for over a minute before the alto & piano begin a tight call & response melody with Sanders providing the response with fleet fingered solo statements which sets up Vinson for along furious solo on alto that changes pace halfway thru as Perdomo brings out the rhodes & chills things out & slows the groove down to a nice strolling medium tempo. "Orange Blue" track 2 is beautiful ballad that gives the lyrical melody to Vinson who allows his phrases to sing. Perdomo takes over from Vinson as pianist & drummer increase the tunes dynamic as Green switches from brushes to sticks it lifts the groove up nicely. Vinson grabs a hold of the building intensity as he solos into the reprise of the theme as the band brings their dynamic back where they started. Track 3 "Simple Song" is a composition by one of Joe's peers saxophoinst Ben Wendel. Clocking in just under ten minutes of the quartet in full flight on this intricate up tempo piece which seems to suggest the opposite of simple. Track 4 is a nice straight ahead reading of the standard "The Things We Did Last Summer". Track 5 "A Joy & Sorry" finds vocals handled by Gretchen Parlato & Sanders on this jazzy singer songwriter piece. Track 6 is a Pat Metheny waltz "Question & Answer" with the catchy melody played by Sanders on his bass in thumb position showcasing his warm fat sound & solid intonation.
I'm going to stop there with the track by track review to save the listeners alittle surprise. I'll close by saying that Introducing Joe Sanders is a highly enjoyable blend of well crafted originals composed by Sanders along with a varied set of tunes that spans from the classic "The Things We Did Last Summer" to modern masters such as Cedar Walton's "Hindsight" & Pat Metheny's "Question & Answer" that the group makes their own. Sanders is a skilled acoustic bassist who posses a dark thick sounding timbre when playing pizz, Sanders really shines with the bow possesing a soaring singing tone smooth as silk. So if you enjoy killer swinging post bop and modern jazz you should have no problem picking this up with no regrets.