A Sentimental Journey in Bloomington, MN

Saxophonist
Tim Warfield
has been associated with the
Wynton Marsalis
/
Lincoln Center
post-Young Lions of mainstream jazz for quite some time. With
A Sentimental Journey
, he might be making inroads to breaking that mold with a collection of standards fortified by the B-3 organ of
Pat Bianchi
and given different shadings or flavors. With trumpeter
Terrell Stafford
as second-in-command,
Warfield
takes the effortless lead on most of these chestnuts, with primarily his tenor sax and a little soprano. There are three short but sweet songs, including a quaint tango/march version of
"My Man"
with
playing a
Sidney Bechet
-toned soprano. The rest are long and involved jam-type workouts as
's tenor is assertive and up-front. A slow, slinky, lugubrious take on
"Sentimental Journey"
and similarly steamy approach to the Brazilian-tinged
"Speak Low"
emphasize what is mostly a program of easy swing, ballads, blues, and bossas, with
"Crazy Rhythm"
the energetic exception. Drummer
Byron "Wookie" Landham
is the lone rhythmic instrument, and unlike his groove-oriented work with
Joey DeFrancesco
, he tones down the proceedings with taste and grace.
is not so much distinctive as tasteful, not shattering barriers but playing enjoyable, straight-laced music. ~ Michael G. Nastos