Sadao Watanabe With The Great Jazz Trio - Bird Of Paradise (1979) [Hi-Res]

Review by Scott Yanow

Altoist Sadao Watanabe is considered one of Japan's top jazzmen. Some of his recordings are quite commercial but Bird of Paradise finds him paying tribute to Charlie Parker with what was called "the great jazz trio" of pianist Hank Jones, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams. The eight selections (five Bird compositions and three standards often played by Parker) are all given strong treatment by the quartet. Watanabe's true love is bebop and his solos here are very much in that tradition, but he plays with a signature all his own.