Tenor saxophonist
Ron Holloway's first album for Milestone as a leader, 1994's
Slanted, sounds like the man is so busy paying tribute to his heroes that his own prodigious gifts are largely ignored.
Holloway is a gifted player with a wide range of influences; his CV includes stints with both the revolutionary jazz poet
Gil Scott-Heron and the garish funk-rock of
Root Boy Slim & the Sex Change Band. (Yes, that's him honking away on "Boogie Til You Puke" and "Dare to Be Fat.") On
Slanted, however, that wide range sounds at times more like a facile talent for mimicry. On the opening version of "Caravan,"
Holloway's solos seem to be saying, "Look how much I can sound like
Paul Gonsalves," and his take on
Sonny Rollins' "Pent-up House" sounds a little too close to the original for comfort. Comfortingly, the three originals are by far the strongest songs, with the cool title track, featuring some sterling vibes by Lennie Cuje, the best of the bunch.
Holloway would outgrow his imitative stage by the time of his next album, but even with its flaws,
Slanted is still worth checking out. ~ Stewart Mason