Faces And Places
A Life, 2025
9/10
The tenor sax wizard Jed Levy is joined by Luis Perdomo, Alvester Garnett and Peter Slavov for this 11th album of modern jazz tunes.
The soulful sax of “EMAIL” starts the listen with Perdomo’s graceful keys and Garnett’s frisky drums adding much playfulness, and “Danza de Berrios” follows with bright sax and warm keys that help cultivate the tribute to the late drummer Steve Berrios.
Landing close to the middle, the intimate mood of “Coming To Terms” tugs on the heartstrings with its emotive appeal, while “Personable” is a rich and upbeat album highlight that allows for the scrappy drums and firm keys to illuminate the sax acrobatics.
Close to the end, “Haiku” offers a rhythmic moment that benefits much from Slavov’s meticulous bass plucking, and “Postscript” exits with the quartet’s inimitable chemistry that emits timeless jazz dynamics.
The songs here represent people and places Levy has met or visited in his lengthy career, and it’s a melodic, groove filled and infectious body of work that warrants repeated listens.
Travels well with: Dave Bass- Trio Nuevo Vol. 2; Steve Knight- For Years Gone