x"This is pure Jazz"
Nat Hentoff
"If there is one word that can be applied to his conception, I think that word is 'purity'. Not one false note is struck; there is no posing or striving for effects, no strained attempts to be fashionable. Nothing gets in the way of the music...
...True innovation might really be what Greg Marvin does here: finding one's own true voice within the exacting, demanding, but potentially glorious strictures of a great musical tradition. He makes you believe in the future of Jazz"
Dan Morgenstern, Director, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University

Greg Marvin
I'LL GET BY
(Timeless SJP 347)


(1) Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead; Our Angel; Devil's Dream; I'll Get By; Over The Rainbow; (2) How Deep Is The Ocean; Old Faithful; (3) 317 East 32nd; Tuesday; Yesterdays; I'm With You (72.09)
(1) Greg Marvin (ts); Hank Jones (p); George Mraz (b); Billy Higgins (d)
(2) As (1) but Mel Lewis (d) replaces Higgins
(3) As (1) but Susan Chen (p) replaces Jones and Akira Tana (d) Replaces Lewis. Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, July 14 and 15, 1986 and March 3 and 4, 1987

 

      For an unabashed tenor freak, this spanking new effort by New York saxophonist Greg Marvin is a joy to behold.
      In an era so largely dominated by the post-Coltrane school (which I, too, love), it is particularly refreshing to encounter a genuinely new voice who plays with his own brand of integrity as well as with body and soul.
      Among the unique aspects of Marvin's style is his sound. Combining the ethereality of early Getz with the gritty mid-range of, say, a Sims, Marvin uses the entire range of his horn with great dramatic and emotive finesse. I'm also impressed with his long, lyric lines, and his sophisticated sense of swing.
      Plying the still fresh waters of the mainstream, but with his own distinct approach, Marvin sails smoothly with such engagingly reframed standards as I'll Get By and Over The Rainbow, taken here as ballads.
      A bracing rendition of Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead is especially effective as are two Marvin originals, Our Angel and Devil's Dream, reworkings of, respectively, Angel Eyes and I'll Remember April.
      Also amazing is the superb chemistry achieved by Marvin and his all-star rhythm section of pianist Hank Jones, bassist George Mraz and either Billy Higgins or Mel Lewis on drums. The synergetic mesh is perfection.
      Annotator Dan Morgenstern notes that "Marvin makes you believe in the future of Jazz," to which I can only apend a hearty, "Amen!"
DR. Chuck Berg
Jazz Times

 

      Originally released as two self produced LPs by the young saxophonist, this CD presents the bulk of those sessions on one disc.
      Marvin studied with Lennie Tristano and admires Warne Marsh and that is evident in his soft, lightweight sound, reminiscent of both Marsh and Lester Young. But whereas Warne sought to improvise continually and at length on a limited number of Tristano themes, Greg covers a wide spectrum; there is a world of difference, and variety, between Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead and 317 East 32nd.
      Marvin has a fresh approach, exploring the melodies of the standards sensuously before launching into exhaustive improvisations on the themes; his tone is light and yet strong, vibratoless and he uses long notes tellingly to embellish the tunes. How Deep Is The Ocean is lovingly dissected for every nuance in the melody before he begins to seek and find his own diverse variatons.
      Jones and Chen, although very different in their approaches, are both supportive pianists and they add to the success of the dates with their individual solo contributions. All the bass and drum combinations work well with Mraz and Higgins outstanding both in solo and section work.
      Greg Marvin's enterprise and courage has paid off and now his music will be widely distributed; he deserves to be heard.
Derek Ansell
Jazz Journal International