I'm All For You (Ballad Songbook)
Saxophonist Joe Lovano has covered a waterfront of high-conceptual settings on record, ranging from orchestral efforts to protean trios, from strings-and-voices tributes to Broadway-based projects.I'm All for Youhas a concept going for it too--it's a ballads album that captures Lovano in his most elemental mode, playing tough but tender tenor in a conventional quartet setting featuring piano eminenceHank Jones, bassistGeorge Mraz, and drummerPaul Motian. Lovano offers some of his most brilliant and heartfelt phrasing on gorgeous readings of classic standards and fresh re-workings of modern gems such asThelonious Monk's "Monk's Mood" andJohn Coltrane's "Countdown." Lifted by Jones's supremely graceful harmonic touches and Motian's breezy sideways shifts and deceptive power, the music here is far from standard issue.--Lloyd Sachs