LENNY SENDERSKY — Desert Flower (review)

LENNY SENDERSKY — Desert Flower album cover Album · 2013 · Latin Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
kev rowland
‘Desert Flower’ is a culmination of the sound that Lenny (alto and soprano saxophone) and Tony (guitar) have been working on over the last few years since they first met and started playing together at the Christiania Jazz Club In Copenhagen, Denmark in June 2010. Since then they have been working together as a partnership, touring in Lenny’s home country of Russia. On this album they have been joined by Randy Brecker (trumpet), Joe Locke (vibraphone), Cleve Douglass (vocals), Steve LaSpina (bass) and Matt Kane (drums). There is a wonderful group feel about this album, as while both Lenny and Tony are incredible soloists they are more than happy to take a pace backwards and let others shine in the spotlight when the time is right. This is mostly an instrumental album, which has at its’ foundation a wonderful rhythm section, who are playing incredibly complex counter melodies and notes that allows the soloists to really move in and around the music. Lenny has a wonderfully warm tone, while Tony seems to be happiest when providing the perfect accompaniment and doesn’t take the lead as often as one would think. Randy and Joe aren’t always in the sound, but when they come in they have major impact to the piece, either as soloists, taking part in a duet, or providing another soundboard for Lenny to play against. This is mainstream jazz, much more refined than what I normally listen to, and because of that I found that although I enjoyed it the very first time I played it, it took quite a while to discern and understand all the layers. It is when they up the tempo as on “Horizons” that they really start to cook, with Matt driving them onwards and Randy and Lenny in perfect harmony at the forefront while Tony provides the support.

A wonderful warm, expressive and impressive album, that fans of mainstream jazz should look out for. www.lennysendersky.com
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Symphonic Blues No. 6 Third Stream
CORKY SIEGEL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Recut Jazz Related Electronica/Hip-Hop
SKALPEL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Yuval Cohen Quartet : Winter Poems Post-Fusion Contemporary
YUVAL COHEN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Just Nu Jazz
JIM HART
Buy this album from MMA partners
Skrifum Post-Fusion Contemporary
JON BALKE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

SOLSTICE album release • Duo Russo - Holst
PAOLO RUSSO
js· 100 minutes ago
All I Want For Christmas Is You
DAVID HAZELTINE
js· 1 day ago
Chicken
QUATUOR EBÈNE
js· 2 days ago
Det er en egen lomme
THE LEIF
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us