Gary Bartz Archive

Gerald Cannon – Combinations – Woodneck Records

by Audiophile Audition | Sep 30, 2017 | Jazz CD Reviews

Gerald Cannon – Combinations – Woodneck Records 66:27****: A pleasant mixture of  precision and coolness (Gerald Cannon – bass; Gary Bartz – alto sax # 1,7,10; Sherman Irby – alto sax #2,4,5,6;  Steve Slagle – alto sax #3;  Jeremy Pelt – trumpet # 1,2,4,5; Duane Eubanks – trumpet #10; Rick Germanson – piano #1,3,4,6,7,9; Kenny Barron – piano #2,5,10; Russell Malone – guitar #3,7,8;,Willie Jones III – drums #1,2,3,4,5,6,9,10; Will Calhoun – drums #7) Gerald Cannon was last heard from as a leader of his own group in 2003 when he released the self-styled album Gerald Cannon. It’s not that he has  been inactive in the intervening years, he has. He has taught at several universities and conservatories including the Oberlin Conservatory, the Wisconsin Conservatory, and was a faculty member of the Conservatory of Maastricht, The Netherlands. He has also recorded with drummer Willie Jones III, guitarist Russell Malone, and pianist Rick Germanson among others. In this cavalcade of musical styles and artists under the title Combinations, Cannon demonstrates his own versatility and that of his cohorts. Kicking things off with Slide Hampton’s “Every Man Is A King”, Cannon’s big-toned bass is in solo mode as this swinger takes shape. […]