Paul Motian

Legendary for his long term associations with Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, and other icons from across the traditional jazz and fusion landscape, Paul Motian celebrated his 75th birthday in 2006 with a return (after a 13-year hiatus) to a cool concept he succeeded with three times before: unique and thoughtful approaches to songs made famous on Broadway. On the first three installments of the series (which began in 1988), he worked with the powerful trio of saxman Joe Lovano, bassist Charlie Haden, and Bill Frisell, but interestingly enough, his all-new lineup (including Chris Potter on sax, Larry Grenadier on bass, and Masabumi Kikuchi on piano) doesn't feature the guitar, which was one of the most appealing elements of the earlier trilogy. Nonetheless, these are thoughtful, sparse arrangements of songs that range from some everyone knows (including a very ambient, spacious arrangement of "I Loves You Porgy" and a sensual vocal version -- sung by Rebecca Martin -- of "How Long Has This Been Going On") to others whose show tunes origins may have been forgotten. Martin's smoky voice and Potter's wide range of emotional sax tones are the highlights of this low-key, sensual affair. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide