[.ca] Space Available

awesome trombonist:
I've had this one in my collection for a few years now. This is probably his best band in terms of quality of arrangers and soloists. Bill's solos, as always, are heart-felt on ballads ("My Foolish Heart" is absolutely gorgeous! Check out the intensity of the high E at the end!). His technique, range, and choice of notes on the uptempo stuff are outstanding. His tone, at times,however, seems unusually dark and muffled. When I first heard the CD, I wondered whether that was really him. It could have been the room or the recording techniques. This CD is a must for all trombonists and big band fans!

Must-Have for Jazz Trombone Aficionados:
Bill Watrous is an uncanny trombonist, with technique to burn and one of the most unique timbres of any trombonist I've ever heard. As a trombonist myself, I'd guess he's perfected the "no-pressure" embouchure and uses lots of close-miking. I can't explain the sound otherwise--very buttery and smooth, rather like a big flugelhorn or a small euphonium. And his range is astonishing--not many people in the world can move so easily (if at all) from his soaring upper register to his amazing pedal tones. That Watrous plays a small bore horn without an F attachment makes it all the more amazing. I hope he has his lips insured! But all that said, I think the appeal here is mostly for fellow trombonists. Bill does bebop, latin, and ballads; and the band plays superbly, with special kudos to pianist Shelly Berg. But the sound is so uniquely...buttery is the only word that really seems appropriate, seemingly totally free of those nasal upper harmonics--and so much in the middle register of the band, and almost always restrained in dynamics, that the overall effect will be perceived as bland by those who aren't in awe of Watrous's stunning technical ability. I believe it's a case where, for many listeners there is too much perfection and not enough grit in Watrous's sound. He never misses a note on this CD, and what he does is absolutely amazing from a trombonist's perspective, but cool bebop is an oxymoron, isn't it? And while I'm nitpicking, some of the sax solos are uninspired--not bad, not by any means; but some of them seem to just be taking up time on the album. The sax goes up, the sax comes down, the sax goes back up again. But Watrous, in the cadenza in the final cut, shows how expressive and astonishing a solo can really be. Since Watrous's debut album, Manhattan Wildlife Refuge, is no longer available, this is my favorite of his works.

Great big band, Watrous also great but over-miked:
Bill Watrous has always been one of my favorites, so I was greatly anticipating this long-overdue big band release, roughly 25 years since his classic albumns on Columbia. The charts and quality of the band here don't disappoint, but unfortunately, Bill's buttery sound is simply too muffled. It sounds too much like a baritone and too little like a trombone. It just doesn't compare to the Columbia releases from that perspective. It's too bad because the awesome technique is still there, if a bit too much--his solo throughout the final cut is almost exclusively 16th notes. The cadenza, however, is a real highlight. Overall, fun, but a bit disappointing for one very familiar with his Columbia and Famous Door releases in the 70's.

Bill Watrous At His Best:
Space Available is his best CD performance to date. It is more varied than "Time For Love" - an album of mostly ballads. The tracks feature music from the Gordon Goodwin and Tom Kubis song books, a nice collection of west coast jazz. Bill Watrous performances are matched by a hard swinging west coast big band - including some great band features. Watrous is especially impressive on Village Dance with a cadenza that includes a little of everything - screaming high phases, great pedal playing, and some funky multiphonics at the end. Way COOL! I heartily recommend this album to jazz fans and trombonists in particular.

Awesome:
This is one of the greatest trombone alubms around. Bill Watrous takes jazz to a whole new range with this CD.

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