An overlooked soul jazz treasure from the early 90s – the debut as a leader by saxophonist
Zane Massey, and still possibly his greatest record to date!
Massey's the son of jazz composer/
trumpeter Cal
Massey – and the vibe here is similar to that of his father's best music – sophisticated, but never too heady – done with a nicely understated quality, yet still quite possessed of its own musical vision.
Massey's got a great tone on his tenor here – sharp, but never too bitten – and the instrumentation features only saxophone, bass, and drums – in a style that reminds us a bit of the freedoms of Sonny Rollins in the late 50s, yet also with a consciousness of the 60s ESP and 70s loft jazz generations.
Massey hits some incredibly soulful moments here – at a level that was hardly being recorded this well at the time – and titles include "Nu Kingdom", "Trickle Down Economics", "Message From Trane", "Through The Eyes Of A Child", "Assunta", "Walk Right In", and "Ms Magic".