For this project, veteran tenor saxophonist
Teddy Edwards performs ten songs named after women's names, including his own "Saskia." Despite the potentially gimmicky nature of the repertoire, the music is conventional hard bop, played with spirit by
Edwards, pianist
Ronnie Mathews, bassist
Chip Jackson, drummer
Chip White, and (on four of the ten numbers) trumpeter
Eddie Allen. Due to the fine solos of
Edwards,
Mathews, and
Allen and the close attention paid to tempo and mood variations between songs, this is an excellent outing, well worth exploring by straight-ahead jazz collectors. ~ Scott Yanow