Sonny Fortune - Laying It Down (1991)

Tracklist

01. It's a Bird
02. Mind Games
03. Laying It Down
04. Pent Up House
05. Tribute to a Holiday
06. Real Knowing
07. From Now On
08. Blue and Green

In quartet settings, alto saxophonist Sony Fortune excels at his craft, either as a sideman or as a leader. In this foursome he leads a band of all-stars in a delightful, flowing, even jubilant session of hard and post-bop that is as rewarding compositionally as it is to listen to. Featuring pianist Kenny Barron, drummer Billy Hart, and bassist Cecil McBee, Fortune has drawn to himself various parts of the American jazz spectrum. And that's as it should be, given the multitude of settings Fortune himself has played in. The compositions are all Fortune's, except for excellent readings of Sonny Rollins' "Pent-Up House" and Miles Davis' "Blues and Green." Fortune moves through the machinations of jazz subgenres like a master. His compositions such as "It's a Bird" involve post-bop figures, hard bop motifs, and Latin rhythmic tinges wrapped in a carnival-esque melody. On "Mind Games" he swings light and easy in a smoky blues figure that shimmers around a series of pedal points. His "Tribute to a Holiday" is a Latin-styled number with a bossa rhythm that eases itself into samba in the bridge and back again, and flows through a series of lovely West Coast jazz motifs before delving deep into Tom Jobim territory melodically. No matter the tune, Fortune can be counted upon to throw the change-up pitch where it's expected least -- check the striated harmonics in the intervals which contain fourths and ninths in "Real Knowing," or the flatted fifths that transmogrify into long lines of diminished eights in shifting 7/8 and even 9/8 before it's all over. This is a master composer's record, and all the players find their way up to the task of not only tackling, but also reveling in the material because of its quality, depth, and soul.

Alto Saxophone, Flute – Sonny Fortune
Bass – Cecil McBee
Drums – Billy Hart
Piano – Kenny Barron
Bass - Santi Briano
Piano - Mulgrew Miller

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