Walt Weiskopf Nonet - Siren - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Inspired writing, and arranging from stunning tenor player, truly masterful playing, w. alto, trombone and excellent rhythm section.

Leopold Godowsky was one of the greatest piano virtuosos of his time, many of whose compositions for the piano have long since taken their place in the repertoire. However, his violin music is almost unknown. Avowal is a charming transcription of his piano work Poem No. 2. The Twelve Impressions were dedicated to Fritz Kreisler and his wife, and are largely derived from Godowsky's original piano pieces but refashioned to allow for Kreisler's fingerings and bowing.

On Walk in the Woods, his latest Criss Cross leader date, Walt Weiskopfupholds the high standards he's set on his previous nine albums for the tag. Here he leads a hand-picked octet, each of the five horns is a veteran section player with extraordinary improvisational skills, including Criss Cross veterans Andy Fusco and Gary Smulyan, propelled by a rhythm section comprising the extraordinary young drummer Kendrick Scott, best known as Terence Blanchard's drummer, and the harmonically informed pianist and bassist Peter Zak and Doug Weiss, through a suite of eight heady originals and a rearranged standard.