|
by Rick Holland
|
 Mean What You Say | | Personnel: Eddie Daniels: clarinet, tenor saxophone; Hank Jones: piano; Richard Davis: bass; Kenny Washington: drums. | | Tracks: Mean What You Say; It Had to be You; Passion Flower; Nagasaki; My One and Only Love; Why You…; Azure; The Touch of Your Lips; You and the Night and the Music; I’m Getting Sentimental Over You; My Little Suede Shoes; How Deep is the Ocean.
Personnel: | |
Eddie Daniels Quartet
Mean What You Say
I’ll never forget the first time I heard Eddie Daniels. It was on a Freddie Hubbard recording, with Sir Roland Hanna.(I believe the recording was called the “Hub of Hubbard”) I did not know the tenor player, and I was blown away by his sense of harmony and swing. Later I was told I should hear this guy play the clarinet. Since then, I’ve enjoyed Eddie music wholeheartedly. He is a virtuoso musician who can display “soul” in his recordings. This is not as common as you might think.
Mean What You Say features an all-star quartet of Hank Jones, Richard Davis and Kenny Washington. They give (as you would expect) Daniels the perfect back-drop for swingin’ standards, played tastefully and masterfully!
Daniels who just turned 65, still is playing the clarinet with exquisite taste. His sound is still as good as ever. His use of rhythm on this disc is marvelous. I love his use of the triplet in variance with eighth and 16th note lines, as heard throughout this disc. He displays such a rhythmic confidence that it gets quietly lost among some whom hear his phenomenal control of the clarinet!
Hank Jones is another gem on this recording. Age is not slowing him down. His technique sounds fluid, with as good as touch as ever. The thing I really appreciate about Hank is the “feel” he brings to a session. It swings, and is always displayed with tasteful musical implication. Remember this man is now 88 years young. He sounds better than most 30 to 40 years olds in their prime.
Richard Davis and Kenny Washington round out a real fine group. Richard Davis also an international performing musician and Professor of Bass at the University of Wisconson-Madison.(European Classical and Jazz).Here he teaches Jazz History and combo improvisation at the University. Davis has contributed to both the performance and educational process of this music for several decades. He’s a man who has lived his craft and demonstrated his musical competence not only within the walls of academia, but playing with the best in the business for many years now.
You might be wondering what were the highlights of this disc. Well, the whole disc speaks volumes. It’s mature, well-spoken musical dialogue from beginning to end. Most of us who play and are involved in this music, can only hope we can play at this level at the point of our prime. Daniels and crew, live, speak this music through the ages. They are master players to be treasured!
For more information about the music of Eddie Daniels, please visit,
http://www.eddiedanielsclarinet.com
|
Rick Holland |
| About the author: |
| A versatile musician and veteran performer in organizations such as the Louie Bellson Big Band (Chicago Based Band), Jimmy Dorsey, Mike Pendowski, Rob Parton , Buddy De Franco, Buselli-Wallrab and Terry Gibbs Bands, Rick Holland brings a wealth of experience and musicality to each performance. |
| Read More >> | |
