Whether he was being employed as a sideman in
Chick Corea's Origin or featuring
Geoff Keezer on some of his own albums,
Tim Garland has enjoyed a healthy rapport with pianists. The British reedman has given the impression that he is well aware of the important role that saxophonist/pianist relationships have played in jazz -- relationships like
John Coltrane and
McCoy Tyner,
Dexter Gordon and
Barry Harris, or
Corea and
Joe Farrell. But what happens when
Garland decides to record without a pianist? In the case of
Change of Season, going pianoless works enjoyably well for
Garland -- who is joined by
Paul Bollenback (acoustic and electric guitar),
John Patitucci (acoustic and electric bass) and
Gary Novak (drums). In fact, the lack of a piano isn't an issue for
Garland or anyone else in this cohesive post-bop quartet. No one will accuse the saxman/clarinetist of inundating listeners with beaten-to-death warhorses; most of the tunes are
Garland originals, and even the two songs that he didn't write (
Corea's "Inner Space" and
Coltrane's "Tunji") haven't been beaten to death.
Garland is not only an appealing soloist; he is also a thoughtful composer, and that thoughtfulness comes through on "The Food of Love," "First Rain" and "Piece of Our Time" as well as the melancholy "To a Discarded Doll." Another highlight of this CD is "Crawler," a
Michael Brecker-ish item that is mysterious yet mildly funky. Some soloists can become inconsistent when they move from one instrument to another, but that is never a problem for
Garland; whether he embracing the tenor sax, soprano sax or bass clarinet,
Garland gets his emotional points across on this likable, if less than groundbreaking, release.