terça-feira, 2 de outubro de 2012

Harold Mabern, Mr. Lucky: A Tribute To Sammy Davis Jr. (HighNote)



1BY BOBBY REED
(HighNote)
In 2007, pianist Harold Mabern paid tribute to songwriter Harold Arlen with the albumSomewhere Over The Rainbow, and now he’s released a very different type of homage—Mr. Lucky: A Tribute To Sammy Davis Jr. Mabern views Davis (1925–’90) as a hero and has described the singer/actor/dancer as “the greatest all-around performer ever.” Between 1955 and 1969, Davis had seven hits on the Billboard pop chart, and Mabern’s quartet interprets three of them here: “Something’s Gotta Give” swings with grace and power, “I’ve Gotta Be Me” is a showcase for tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander’s rich, gorgeous tone, and “What Kind Of Fool Am I?” simply sparkles, thanks to the superb combination of the pianist’s agile right-hand figures and drummer Joe Farnsworth’s expert brushwork. Double bassist John Webber deftly anchors the quartet and offers an elegant, 47-second solo on the album’s only original number, “Soft Shoe Trainin’ With Sammy,” penned by Mabern. The album opens with the earworm “The People Tree,” delivered in a smile-inducing, jaunty arrangement. Kudos to Mabern for embracing this Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley mood-lifter from the musical The Good Old Bad Old Days!At the end of this tune, Alexander puts a cherry on top of the succulent sundae by including a brief quote from Davis’ biggest hit, “The Candy Man” (also penned by Bricusse & Newley). The centerpiece of this album is a beautiful solo piano reading of “Hey There,” which should please fans of Mabern’s 2008 solo piano date, Misty. For his 19th project as a leader, Mabern went to Englewood Cliffs, N.J., to work with the legendary Rudy Van Gelder, who engineered, mixed and mastered Mr. Lucky.
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