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Tenor saxophonist Anton Schwartz and his working band take an excursion in The Slow Lane, his second self-produced CD. In addition to 5 original tunes, Schwartz has arranged some standards for this session that go a long way towards pointing out his influences, including Benny Golson's classic "Along Came Betty," Billy Strayhorn's delicious "Chelsea Bridge," and Wayne Shorter's "Miyako," the most recent tune among them. His tenor work is fluid and self-assured, with the kind of relaxed rhythmic phrasing that comes from knowing that the band will be right there with him at every turn. Like so many discs of late, this one is programmed as if it were a club set, mixing tempos in an effort to keep the listener interested all the way through the hour plus. "Don't Ask," for instance, one of the disc's highlights, a steamroller of a tune with ireesistible rhythms and an inspired drum break by Jason Lewis, is followed by a lovely performance of Schwartz's original ballad "Then Again." There are a few missteps, like the slightly clunky arrangement of the Golson tune, and the unwelcome fades on a number of tunes, but basically, this swings from note one, and if he keeps working and growing, I expect that we'll be hearing a lot more from Anton Schwartz. (AntonJazz AJ-1002; Anton Schwartz (ts) Paul Nagel (p) John Shifflett (b) Jason Lewis (d); Berkeley, CA, November 2-4, 1999; MIYAKO / THE CURVE OF THE EARTH / DON'T ASK / THEN AGAIN / ALONG CAME BETTY / CHELSEA BRIDGE / COME RAIN OR COME SHINE / PEACE DOLLAR / BORN TO BE BLUE / THE SLOW LANE / THE CURVE OF THE EARTH (REPRISE); 69:58)
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