by Shaun Brady
There are plenty of legends still living who are intimately associated with the Blue Note label — Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner. In that company, the septet that the label assembled to commemorate its 70th anniversary feels less all-star than all-respectable. Their takes on Blue Note classics share in that sense; all veneration, no innovation. Bill Charlap, Nicholas Payton, Ravi Coltrane and their bandmates may be better able to offer elegant reprisals than the toothy interpretations that made tunes by the likes of Monk and Shorter so lasting in the first place, but this is a party — there'll be other occasions for pushing forward.


Comments
Be the first to comment on this article.