For Hamp, Red, Bags, and Cal
WithFor Hamp, Red, Bags, and Calvibist Gary Burton salutes four other masters of the mallet--Lionel Hampton, Red Norvo, Milt Jackson, and Cal Tjader. He captures the essence of each player's genius while allowing himself space to demonstrate his own. For the three Tjader cuts Burton uses musicians expert in Latin rhythms, whereas for Hamp and Bags he uses pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Lewis Nash for fresh and imaginative readings of classic tunes such as "Flying Home" and "Django." But it is, rather surprisingly, the five Norvo tributes that shine most brightly. Three of them feature a drumless trio completed by guitarist Russell Malone and McBride. The drive they achieve on "Back Home Again in Indiana" is awesome. The remaining two are duets with pianist Makoto Ozone, featuring Burton on xylophone for "Hole in the Wall" and marimba on "Dance of the Octopus," the latter proving a suitably arresting finale to the session. Burton's previous Concord release,Libertango, was one of the outstanding jazz records of 2000, and in its very different way this is every bit as resplendent.--Richard Palmer