John Farnsworth - Live from Smoke: Monday Nights - Music & Performance - CD

Jazz insiders say that Farnsworth combines the clean tone of Stan Getz, the lyrical imagination of Junior Cook, and the swinging straight-ahead lines of Hank Mobley and Dexter Gordon to present his authentic sound. Farnsworth's sophomore album entitled 'Live From Smoke: Monday Nights With John Farnsworth' is a compilation of three live shows recorded at New York City's renowned Smoke Jazz Club. The album showcases the intense musical relationship between John and his brother Joe as well as many other heavy hitters, including Dr. Eddie Henderson, Frank Lacy, Jim Rotondi, Steve Davis, Mike LeDonne, Dwayne Burno, Carlton Holmes and John Webber. Farnsworth has been hosting Monday night jam sessions at Smoke for the past nine years and this CD captures the magic of these performances. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-- "One of the most talented and gifted musicians that I have ever encountered" -Curtis Fuller "He comes highly recommended by me" -George Coleman "One of the true unsung heroes of the music business" -Harold Mabern &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-- Here's what Zan Stewart of The Star Ledger said about this CD: Tenor saxophonist and composer John Farnsworth's heart is in the vital, appealing 1960s jazz by greats like Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Curtis Fuller, and McCoy Tyner. This music ranged from gospel and blues feelings to hard-driving, open-minded expressions. On this zesty CD recorded at Smoke Jazz Club in New York, Atlantic Highlands resident Farnsworth delivers a fresh, vigorous slant on the era. The alluring themes, by Farnsworth and Frank Lacy, are brought to life by a frontline that mixes the leader's warm sound with the bold tones of, variously, trumpeters Jim Rotondi and Dr. Eddie Henderson, and trombonists Lacy and Steve Davis. The potent rhythm team - drummer Joe Farnsworth, and variously bassists Dwayne Burno and John Webber, and pianists Mike LeDonne and Carlton Holmes - adds swaggering heft. "A Cry For Understanding" starts with clarion tenor, moves to a drum solo, then hits an upbeat groove with charging, choice-noted solos from Rotondi, Davis, the leader and LeDonne. The same crew injects fire into the fast waltz, "Mozzin'." "Shorter Moments" is a mellow-minded swinger with probing Farnsworth tenor.

• John Farnsworth - Live from Smoke: Monday Nights - Music & Performance - CD
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