darkprinceofjazz
The Cleveland Ohio native Joe Lavano is a true Giant of Modern Jazz, When you consider the string of albums Joe has put out just in the last 10 years, It is amazing, Had joe hit his creative peak in the 50's and 60's he surely would be mentioned in the same breath as Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins, When you stack up his best albums with their best, Joe is right there in my mind, Sure he isn't as groundbreaking as those artists were, and he certainly has taken the passed down knowledge from them, But when I think of most of the Bop being played today, Joe's music is incredible, and original, I am amazed at how he stays within the bop post bop tradition and still adds to it's vocabulary, The Landmarks album Was the first one I heard from Joe and I rather like it, Abercrombie on guitar is fantastic as well, But Joe's Current Us5 band is really something to hear,Joe gets better with age, I wonder if 50 years from now, Joe will be mentioned with those Tenor giants of the past, For my money, He should be now.