Vincent Herring "Mr Wizard"

[Joe M]

Wow, this is really good stuff. Jeremy Pelt sounds great as always, and the cd has some of that edge that a lot of mainstream recordings seem to lack, yet it still swings. All originals, except for Four By Five, You Leave Me Breathless and All God's Children Got Rhythm. EJ Strickland and Richie Goods really light the fire on this one. I think it's got to be Vincent's strongest to date. And of course, Mr. Pelt continues to amaze. If he had come on the scene 12-15 years ago, he'd be a huge star on a major label. When it comes to thinking of alto players out today, Herring isn't the first name to come to mind, but I think his playing on this one is really strong - maybe not as intense as Kenny Garrett, but intensity isn't everything. Some of the tunes on this one also sound like they could be Kenny's for that matter.

[marcoliv]

EJ is amazing!! seeing him performing drove me wild some months ago and he was very friendly too. he was convinced that i was a musician and knowing that i´m not he told me something very nice:" if we could have everynight on the audience people like you and your enthousiasm we would play even better"

Marcus

Edited May 13, 2004 by marcoliv

[montg]

This has been on my radar since last month, but hadn't heard much about it--you convinced me Joe to pick it up. I'll probably grab it at the end of the month.

I agree with the assessment that J Pelt would be attracting 'major label' attention in a different climate. But, as far as artist development goes, this extra waiting may be a blessing in disguise since the added pressures and commercial considerations that probably acompany a major label signing aren't in play yet for him.