Tenor saxophonist
Don Braden
's 2004 release looks very much back to the 1960s stylewise, even though most of the songs are recent originals. The tenor/trombone front line with
Conrad Herwig
is a little reminiscent of
the Jazz Crusaders
,
Braden
's
"No Complaints"
sounds similar to the
Art Blakey
recording of
"Blues March,"
and in general the music falls squarely into the worlds of
hard bop
and
soul-jazz
. However, that does not mean that the music is stale or overly predictable.
has a big tone and a fluent improvising style, trombonist
Herwig
is quite versatile, organist
Kyle Koehler
is both in the tradition and fairly individual, and drummer
Cecil Brooks III
always keeps the momentum moving. Fans of the idiom will definitely enjoy this spirited set. ~ Scott Yanow