Greg Marvin
WORKOUT!
(Planet X CD 1088)
(Original Release: Criss Cross 1037)

Greg Marvin (ts); Tom Harrell (tmp); Kenny Barron (p); George Mraz (b); Kenny Washington (d)
Zip; Everything I Have Is Yours; Dickie's Dream; Subconsious-Lee; Lover Man; Gentle Giant.

     

     Tenor Saxophonist Greg Marvin established his place in the contemporary pantheon with his critically acclaimed release of last year, I'll Get By (Hi-Hat 2). I'm happy to report that his follow-up for the Dutch Criss Cross label is a winner as well.
      Marvin is a 33-year-old New Yorker whose playing reflects the thoughtfulness of mentors Lennie Tristano and Warne Marsh, as well as swinging lyricists like Lester Young and Sonny Rollins. With virtuosic bop-based chops and a warm singing tone reminiscent of Marsh, Marvin is a uniquely compelling stylist, visceral as well as cerebral.
      In tribute to Marsh, the late tenor sax innovator, Marvin offers a poignant reworking of the changes of Out of Nowhere called Gentle Giant. "Warne's was a great spirit," Marvin notes in the liners. "He brought a beautiful sound and feeling to music; something wholly his own." So, too, I might add, does Marvin.
      The interactions between Marvin and his front-line foil, Tom Harrell, are all hand-in-glove. In Lee Konitz's acrobatic Subconscious- Lee, tightly choreographed sallies explode everywhere. As for Barron, Mraz and Washington, well, what can one say about perfection?
      Marvin again impresses with long sinuous lines, his use of the entire range of the tenor, and an ever-probing approach which together spell sound-of-surprise Jazz at its neo-mainstream best!
Dr.Chuck Berg
Jazztimes August 1989