Jeff Johnson - Suitcase - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

A live recording with a noirish aesthetic, InchFreeInch takes Jazz to a very deep place. Some musicians' work transcends music, exploring the underground river of emotions far at the back of imagination and desire, and it is in that sense that Jeff Johnson's creativity hearkens to Miles Davis. Listening to this CD is all but akin to a drug experience, as Jeff and two longtime bandmates, saxophonist Hans Teuber and drummer Billy Mintz, make time stand still with music which is more question than statement. Johnson has a cavernously rich bass sound, and a perfect foil to Teuber's puckish, quizzical alto sax, with drummer Mintz coloring their every feint. This music is all about flexibility and freedom. Originally released in 1999. Album Tracks 1. Old Fellow 2. Hi-Fly 3. Shadow Me 4. Moonlight Serenade 5. Love and Beauty 6. Chariots for Anthony

Jeff Johnson's quartet breathes fresh life into the venerable tenor/piano/bass/drums . The transparent and airy quality of these live-to-two-track recordings provides each instrument with it's own acoustic space in the mix, rendering the nuances of the ensemble's subtle interplay readily apparent. The overall effect is sensuous and engaging. Johnson and company succeed in making the music new, by adopting a Zen-like approach to staying in the moment. This CD is a simply wonderful disc, and it deserves the highest recommendation. - Cadence Magazine. (Voted top NW recording and instrumentalist of 2001 by Earshot Magazine). Originally released in 2001. Album Tracks 1. Slow Hot Wind 2. Castles 3. Mr. Lucky 4. Virgo 5. Bejing 6. Art of Falling 7. Miles Away 8. Contours 9. Portrait of Diana

... sensuous and engaging, the recording conveys the feeling of actual minds and bodies producing these sounds in real time. CADENCE. After years of traveling, bassist Jeff Johnson made Seattle home in the late '80s where he settled quickly into a musically rich existence. Besides becoming a piece of both Hal Galper and Jessica Williams' active trios, Johnson was creating another body of work with saxophonist John Gross and drummer Billy Mintz who he'd met while living in San Diego. Pianist Art Resnick went back to his earliest playing days in Minneapolis and had recently moved to Portland. Wrapping up a west coast tour with the quartet, Jeff booked a studio for a few hours to capture where the muse had been taking them. Tape in hand, they agreed they had found some magic, and then all went their separate ways. They rekindled the moments again and again in different combinations over the years, while InchMy HeartInch remained on the shelf. Always wanting to the album to honor the care John, Billy and Art gave to his music, here 32 years later that moment has come. Inch... a trailblazing approach to composition and melodic improvisation that, like his signature playing on bass, stands out as original and fearless.Inch ALL ABOUT JAZZ Album Tracks 1. Linden Station 2. Leviathan 3. Companions 4. My Heart 5. Studio City 6. Watercolours