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Seven Steps to Heaven
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Barnes and Noble
Seven Steps to Heaven
Current price: $9.99
Barnes and Noble
Seven Steps to Heaven
Current price: $9.99
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finds
standing yet again on the fault line between stylistic epochs. In early 1963, pianist
, bassist
, and drummer
left to form their own trio, and
was forced to form a new band, which included Memphis tenor player
and bassist
. When
next entered the studio in Hollywood, he added local drummer
and British studio ace
, who ultimately decided not to go on the road with
. It's easy to see why
liked
, who contributed the dancing title tune and "Joshua" to the session. On three mellifluous standards -- particularly a cerebral "Basin Street Blues" and a broken-hearted "I Fall in Love Too Easily" -- the pianist plays with an elegant, refined touch, and the kind of rarefied voicings that suggest
.
responds with some of his most introspective, romantic ballad playing. When
returned to New York he finally succeeded in spiriting away a brilliantly gifted 17-year-old drummer from
:
. On the title tune you can already hear the difference, as his crisp, driving cymbal beat and jittery, aggressive syncopations propel
into the upper reaches of his horn. On "So Near, So Far" the drummer combines with
and new pianist
to expand on a light Afro-Cuban beat with a series of telepathic changes in tempo, texture, and dynamics. Meanwhile,
's "Joshua" (with its overtones of "So What" and "All Blues") portends the kind of expressive variations on the basic 4/4 pulse that would become the band's trademark, as
and
ascend into bebop heaven. ~ Rovi Staff