Barefooted Town

Overview:"Barefooted Town" is alto sax player, Binney's second release in 2011. Binney's other 2011 release "Graylen Epicenter", is a more ambitious and modern sounding CD that pushes the boundaries more than "Barefooted Town". That said, "Barefooted Town" is my favorite CD of the two. On "Barefooted Town" there are no gimmicks. It is just straight forward jazz, excellent song writing, lots of emotion, and great soloing. Binney is joined by rising trumpet superstar Ambrose Akinmusire, Mark Turner on tenor sax, David Virelles on piano, Eivind Opsvik on bass, and Dan Weiss on drums. All seven songs on the album are written by Binney. Binney fans will find plenty of examples of David's signature horn harmony, epic themes, and intertwining epic horn lines.Song Highlights:Once, When She Was Here - This ballad is just drenched in emotion. It is a very sad song that opens with some reflective piano. Weiss comes in with some brushwork and Binney begins an airy heavy breathed slow solo. Virelles piano is so clean and crisp on this song, which really adds to the mood. This is in my opinion the best ballad I've heard Binney play. It really hit home for me.Barefooted Town - The title track opens with a sad melody that reminds me of Brad Mehldau's 2010 release, "Highway Rider". The tune opens with a repetitive sad piano line. Throughout the tune drummer Weiss is just romping with ferocious accents. Binney has a blazing, growling, and wild solo. This is a classic example of Binney's epic themes.A Night Every Day - This song opens up with piano intro, and then the three horns come in with a wonderfully epic intertwining horn line. The harmonic intertwining horn lines, a classic Binney staple, are haunting and pretty. There is another terrific sax solo on this tune. I'm not sure if it is Binney or Turner. Regardless, it is first rate.Seven Sixty - This rapid pace tune bursts out of the gate and Binney launches immediately into a fiery solo. As Binney finishes the band lowers its volume and slows down for a completely different kind of solo from Akinmusire. The quieter mood allows for some nice embellishments by Weiss to be heard. The tempo picks up again for Virelles' piano solo.

To be honest, if I had purchased this separately I would have given it 5 stars as I liked it very much and have become a true David Binney fan. As it turned out though, because Graylen Epicenter was so much cheaper, I bought the 2 together and to my ear its the better of the 2 (see my review there as well). Don't get me wrong, this is very good music in its own right, its just that Graylen will probably go down as his masterpiece at this point. And to a degree, as you'll note from the other reviewer here so far, it depends on your point of view as he preferred Barefooted. They're both excellent. Especially liked the title track and Once when you were here. This is more standard fare overall though and Graylen is truly cutting edge.

David’s tone and command of meter is so impressive. I have other albums by him as well. Strongly recommended.

This is very much a typical release by the Criss Cross label - an unamusing and unprentious record which eschews any attempt to be modish and simply lays down a series of tracks which define everything that is good about the current jazz scene. In fact, this is one of the best CD's I've bought on this label and the record yields more and more with each listen. Although I have been familiar with alto-ist David Binney for a long while and seen him in concert in a group led by Uri Caine, he's a new favourite of mine. "Barefoot Town" sees him fronting a sextet with a front line of young stars Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet and Mark Turner on tenor. Turner's tenor is an intriguing match as he favours Binney's light tone and also shares the same considered approach to improvisation. Back in the 1950's this kind of approach earned a reputation as being "Cool jazz" as it's practisioners avoided any overt emotional expression on their instruments. The results back then (to my ears at least) produced some of the least interesting jazz of the time and the likes of Stan Getz and Paul Desmond are typical of the artists that have never appealed and one I try to avoid. Conversely, the "Tristano School" of players likes Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh seemed to grasp that the cooler approach was not so much an ethos but the result of considered study into the art of improvisation and attention to detail regarding how to construct their phrasing. Their efforts seemed to be more successful and more in the spirit of what I feel jazz should be about. Although Daivd Binney has cited Paul Desmond as one of his 4 favourite alto players, the combination with Turner immediately does recall the wonderful Marsh and Konitz combination and I've been intrigued too by the approach to soloing by Binney and Turner. Binney is a skilled improvisor and new discovery Mark Turner has such a light tone on his horn that it belies the fact he is playing the same instrument as Sonny Rollins or Dexter Gordon. Binney and Turner really compliment each other's playing. Akinmusire's continued quest to find new ways of performing on the trumpet add another dimension. He very much recalls the under-rated Kenny Dorham in this respect and I've been an avid follower of his work over the last 12 months - havng seen him play live in July 2012, he's definitely the most exciting trumpeter to emerge since Dave Douglas in the 1990's. "Barefooted town" is a compelling listen and even though there is a measured and mature approach to the music , you can sense the music heating up as the compositions reach their conclusion. The conclusions to some of the arrangements are surprisingly rousing. I think that much of the appeal of this record lies in David Binney's ability as a composer and the writing ensures that this CD is far, far more than just another blowing session. The themes are often convoluted and there is a toughness about the opening two tracks that places the music very much within our era. Things get extremely interesting in the title track which is a stately theme underpinned by interjections from David Virelle's piano and David Weiss' drums which disrupt the calmness. I like this number the most . In some respects, this tune recollects the writing of Bobby Previte who is also not afraid to let the use of the voice flesh out some of the ensemble writing. Virelle's introduction to "A night every day" is worth the price of the record alone. However, it seems churlish to select individuals numbers as there are no duff tracks or fillers on this record and there is plenty to appreciate throughout it's duration. This is easily one of the best new CDs I've bought in the last 12 months. "Barefooted town" typifies what I look for in a good, contemporary jazz record and is another impressive release for Criss Cross, a label which is currently airing some very rewarding music. This David Binney disc, though, it one of it's best. Thoroughly recommended.

David Binney est un musicien extraordinaire !C'est sûrement le seul saxophoniste actuel à avoir ce son et ce touché qui faisaient de Michael Brecker le plus grand de sa génération.A mon avis il vaut largement son ami Chris Potter (c'est lui le Goliath du titre!) mais la critique musicale est ainsi faite; certains montent les marches a pas de géant pendant que d'autres restent en bas pour s'occuper du jardin !!!