Saxophone Virtuoso James Carter & His Organ Trio Celebrate 10th Anniversary With “At the Crossroads,” Due for Oct. 4 Release by Emarcy
One of jazz’s most acclaimed, distinctive improvisers, virtuoso saxophonist James Carter returns to a favored format and simpatico colleagues with At the Crossroads, his 15th CD as a leader and the third showcasing his long-standing Organ Trio. Emarcy Records will release the CD on October 4.
Whether he’s playing tenor or soprano sax, shows off a sweet, sinuous tone; when he reinterprets Reinhardt’s classic Nuages with a bass sax, the muscular sound is distancing at first, but then it wraps itself around the listener like an anaconda.
-Christopher John Farley, TIME
There were passages in the program, especially during pieces such as Joe Henderson’s “Recorda Me,” in which Carter played with a surprisingly soft and tender sound, his improvisations filled with subtle melodic paraphrases. At other times, he added an appealing, burry edge to his tone—the result calling up images, on soprano saxophone, of Sidney Bechet.
-Don Heckman, LOS ANGELES TIMES