(Sharel Cassity – alto sax; Michael Dease – trombone; Tom Barber – trumpet, flugelhorn; Pete Reardon-Anderson, tenor sax; Adam Birnbaum – piano; Paul Beaudry – bass; Vincent Ector – drums)
Armed with a highly personal alto sax tone somewhere between Bobby Watson and Jon Gordon, degrees from the New School and Juliard, and a nimble band, Sharel Cassity bursts on the scene with a congenial recording of standards and originals. When things get cranked up, as on the Lennie Tristano piece, “Wow,” with a very attractive arrangement by trumpeter Tom Barber, this set sparkles. “Roditi’s Dream,” a samba in honor of the great Brazilian horn man Claudio Roditi, also makes a strong impression, as does the leader’s heartfelt reading of the ballad “Lover Man.” “Irazu (Wish You Were Here),” another Latin-tinged number, also scores big. The high point for me is Ray Noble’s played-to-death piece, “Cherokee,” which here receives a fresh treatment and gives Cassity a chance to display her considerable chops.
Less impressive are “Phibes’ Revenge” and “Just for You” which, though well played and not without their pleasures, sound a little generic. Unfortunately, they lead off the recording and fail to alert the listener that something pretty special follows. Clocking in at under 40 minutes, this disc leaves the listener wanting more, but also perhaps feeling a little short-changed. Nevertheless, I look for great things from a very promising young jazz artist.
TrackList: Phibes’ Revenge, Just for You, Irazu (Wish You Were Here), Lover Man, Wow, Roditi’s Dream, Cherokee
– Jan P. Dennis
