Jerry Bergonzi
has long been regarded as a top-flight tenor saxophonist among his peers and this session finds him in top form, playing with a seasoned, familiar rhythm section, consisting of pianist
Bruce Barth
, bassist
Dave Santoro
, and drummer
Andrea Michelutti
. Seven of the ten tracks are originals by the leader, starting with the tense, somewhat dark cooker
"Mr. MB,"
dedicated to the late tenorist
Michael Brecker
.
Bergonzi
switches to soprano for his exotic
"Malaga."
"Transphybian"
is an unusual blues that doesn't follow the predicted path, while
"Crossing the Naeff"
is a haunting ballad duet with
Barth
's settings of standards are all refreshing.
"Come Fly with Me"
bursts with energy from his angular,
Sonny Rollins
-flavored approach, while his inventive re-harmonization of
"Out of Nowhere"
contrasts with a more traditional arrangement of
"Dancing in the Dark."
Highly recommended! ~ Ken Dryden