Tony Purrone
's third
SteepleChase
outing is a collection of tunes written by jazz guitar greats spanning several generations:
Django Reinhardt
,
George Van Eps
Johnny Smith
Jimmy Raney
Tal Farlow
Wes Montgomery
Jim Hall
Joe Pass
Pat Martino
, and
John McLaughlin
. Joining
Purrone
on this far-flung journey are pianist
Harold Danko
, drummer
Keith Copeland
, and bassist
Avishai Cohen
(just before he became a hot commodity). With
Danko
present (not on every track), we get to hear
's guitar against a fuller harmonic background than was the case on his two previous CDs. It's also interesting to hear
's take on music by
Hall
and
Van Eps
, two of the least chops-oriented guitarists in jazz history.
seems more in his element, however, on the machine-gun tempo of
Martino
's
"On the Stairs"
and the wide-open, hypnotic grooves of
McLaughlin
"Follow Your Heart"
"Cavu."
Some may not kindle to
's notey, almost agitated style and his somewhat thin tone, but it's hard to quarrel with how he dances his way through
Raney
"Signal"
Pass
"For Django."
(
is brilliant on the latter as well.) There's a wide breadth of music on the album, but
ties it all together by remaining himself throughout. ~ David R. Adler