[.ca] Alto Magic: Dance Party with Earl Bostic

The Bostic legend lives on:
Sadly unknown and underappreciated today, Earl Bostic ranks with Bird, Coleman Hawkins, Coltrane and Ben Webster among the true innovators of Jazz sax playing. His 1950's band membership reads like a who's who of jazz greats of the era, and among his students were luminaries like Coltrane. Bostic's virtuosity was surpassed by no one's. His tone is brilliant to the point of stridency, with a tough and craggy edge to each note, and yet his playing is permeated by a lyrical fluidity and continuity that one would more often associate with Hawkins or Webster. His sound remains as unique as does Sidney Bechet's. Once heard, it is never forgotten and instantly recognized. Characteristic in his playing is a faithful adherence to well known tunes, rendering them instantly recognizable, and unexpected virtuosic embellishments that add dimension and interest to an otherwise familiar and uneventful melodic line. His improvisations are always tasteful and somehow appropriate to the thematic material worked on. Bostic is no revolutionary. He treats his material with respect. Unfortunately, his extraordinary playing is too often accompanied by trite, mediocre arrangements of sappy texture and syrupy harmonizations. The overall effect is somehow more reminiscent of a tacky polyesterized 1950's dance hall, rather than a real jazz setting. If you tune out the saccharine background slop and focus your ears entirely on Bostic's playing you will be treated to a rare experience of a singular master performer at the height of his powers.

Alto Magic:
All tracks on this CD are great - except that there may be a manufacturing error on track 5 (Pinkie). At 2 minutes 14 seconds into the track, it stops abruptly and goes on to track 6. I have inspected the disk and it is perfectly clean with no imperfections, so I believe it may be a problem with the master tape, and King Label's quality control did not catch it prior to being pressed. If anyone else who owns this cd is experiencing the same problem please let me know. The rest of the disk is so good that I will live with this imperfection, rather than returning the disk, unless there are copies which do not have this flaw.

• Twilight Time
• Stairway to the Stars
• Rockin' With Richard
• Be My Love
• Pinkie
• Goodnight Sweetheart
• Over the Waves Rock
• Jer-On-Imo
• C Jam Blues
• Wee-Gee Board
• Wrecking Rock
• Home Sweet Home Rock