| Currently based in Amsterdam, Holland, Greg Marvin has performed with his quartet at festivals as well as in clubs and concert halls in the U.S.A. and throughout Europe. He has recorded as a leader with such artists as Hank Jones, Tom Harrell, Billy Higgins, George Mraz, Mel Lewis, Kenny Barron, Lewis Nash, Akira Tana, James Williams, George Cables and others. This album features a great line-up including pianists Hank Jones and Susan Chen on one track.
For an unabashed tenor freak, this spanking new effort by New York saxophonist Greg Marvin is a joy to behold. In an era so largely dominated by the post-Coltrane school (which I, too, love), it is particularly refreshing to encounter a genuinely new voice who plays with his own brand of integrity as well as with body and soul. Among the unique aspects of Marvin's style is his sound. Combining the ethereality of early Getz with the gritty mid-range of, say, a Sims, Marvin uses the entire range of his horn with great dramatic and emotive finesse. I'm also impressed with his long, lyric lines, and his sophisticated sense of swing.
Plying the still fresh waters of the mainstream, but with his own distinct approach, Marvin sails smoothly with such engagingly reframed standards as "I'll Get By" and "Over The Rainbow", taken here as ballads. A bracing rendition of "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" is especially effective as are two Marvin originals, "Our Angel" and "Devil's Dream", reworkings of, respectively, "Angel Eyes" and "I'll Remember April".
Also amazing is the superb chemistry achieved by Marvin and his all-star rhythm section of pianist Hank Jones, bassist George Mraz and either Billy Higgins or Mel Lewis on drums. The synergetic mesh is perfection. Annotator Dan Morgenstern notes that "Marvin makes you believe in the future of Jazz," to which I can only apend a hearty, "Amen!" - DR. Chuck Berg, Jazz Times |