Saxophonist
Greg Osby attacks a varied mix of jazz standards on
St. Louis Shoes with results that sound both well within the "tradition" and utterly modern. Reminiscent of midcareer
Wynton Marsalis,
Osby seems to want to mix the Cotton Club-style swing of
Duke Ellington with the angular bebop and calculated arrhythmia of
Thelonious Monk. Backed by a stellar ensemble including trumpeter
Nicholas Payton, bassist
Robert Hurst, pianist
Harold O'Neil, and drummer
Rodney Green,
Osby crafts interesting arrangements of songs including the barely recognizable
Gershwin chestnut "Summertime" and the
Dizzy Gillespie classic "Shaw 'Nuff" that are both harmonically challenging and rhythmically unique. Check out the quirky and angular
Raymond Scott meets
Monk written solo that
Osby and
Payton play in the middle of
Ellington's "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo."
Payton's playing seems more
Marsalis-like than ever, featuring lots of off-kilter diminished lines, growls, and a general adventurousness that's lacking in too many young jazz musicians.
Osby himself has never sounded more in charge of his abilities and even though this is by comparison one of his more conventional outings, he nonetheless achieves a level of creative individuality few of his contemporaries can match. ~ Matt Collar