Sax ala Carter!
Sax ala Carter! is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Carter recorded in 1960 and originally released on the United Artists label. Reception. AllMusic reviewer Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. stated: "the songs are popular standards and the renditions offered here are fairly short (none reach the four-minute mark). Having said all this, one might expect "Sax ala Carter!" to resemble cocktail jazz, but it doesn't. Instead, the listener is treated to an intimate set made up of fine ensemble work ... Incredibly, this entire album was recorded in one day on February 5, 1960. A fun  treat." "Village Voice" critic Tom Hull found the album "exquisite" and "prime" Carter, while saying of his band: "A quartet with Jimmy Rowles, Leroy Vinnegar, and Mel Lewis, perfect support for the great swing saxophonist. Few have matched the sheer beauty of Carter's tone, and not even Johnny Hodges could string together a solo with the elegance and precision that Carter invariably possessed." "The Guardian"s John Fordham observed: "Carter's sound seems to embody the pragmatically sensual, life-embracing ease that characterises the jazz of the pre-bop era – though as an immensely sophisticated musician, Carter's improvising was  full of modern audacities. This is a conventional and easy-swinging set – but the pleading romantic tremor in the ballad playing, the suggestively swivelling slurs and the almost Bird-like brittleness on 'For All We Know' all testify to a master in his prime." All About Jazz reviewer Mitchell Seidel wrote: "Brevity being the soul of wit, nearly all of the selections weigh in at about three minutes apiece, yet Carter and company manage to cram a lot of playing into each cut. ... Carter shows you can wring a lot out of a tune before getting to a formal solo . Rowles is, at times, downright ebullient, in both his accompaniment and his solos, similarly cramming a lot of ideas into limited space without sounding forced or contrived. ...The backing of the trio is typically rock-solid for a Carter small group, with Vinnegar and Lewis providing the leader with the strong support he liked. Lewis plays with a forcefulness that he displayed with larger ensembles of the time."