Top flight original jazz Ernie Watts Quartet – HOME LIGHT: Before I even start my review, I strongly recommend you watch Ernie in live performance at one of my favorite jazz haunts, Der Jazzkeller, in Frankfurt, Germany (I hit this joint almost every night back in the mid-’60’s), performing the opener for the album, “I Forgot August“…
…the players may be different from those on the album, but Ernie’s performance is sizzling hot… though it’s not “his” channel, you may want to SUBSCRIBE to this one on YouTube.
Ernie’s music has been a force in my studios ever since I reviewed him way back in issue # 150, and tunes like the 6:30 “Spinning Wheel” will let you hear why… Christof Saenger’s piano on this song is just fantastic (not to mention Rudi Engel’s great acoustic bass and Heinrich Koebberling’s right-on-time drum work).
The closer & title track, “Home Light“, does a beautiful job of giving the listener the full/rich tones of Ernie’s magical tenor sax; I predict this soulful tune will be getting airplay over & over again on jazz stations ’round the globe!
It only took 10 seconds of listening to the 8:38 “Cafe Central 2am” to know that it was my pick for personal favorite of the nine songs Ernie offers up for our jazz journey… the recording is flawless, and the performance each player turns in is full of the very heart of jazz.
I give Ernie & his players a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of a (perfect) 5.00 – meaning that it also gets my “PICK” for “best tenor-sax led quartet”! Get more information on Ernie’s website. Rotcod Zzaj
#Top #flight #original #jazz #Ernie #Watts #Quartet
