Scott Hamilton Back In New York

[bebopbob]

Due out on Tuesday, April 5th. Will grab it at lunch.

Although IMHO it took Scott Hamilton 5 to 10 years to come full circle with his playing in a quartet setting after the "breakup" of the Scott Hamilton Quintet in the late 1980s, this set looks like it will be a four star set in both artists' discographies.

While sets like "Organic Duke" and ""Race Point" fall short of the classic Hamilton recordings from the 70s and 80s, albums like "After Hours" with Tommy Flanagan and "Live in London" really show how Hamilton's playing has matured and deepened to a level where one doesn't miss him in a quintet setting.

As for Charlap, he's the best pianist out there today, IMHO.

Edited April 5, 2005 by bebopbob

[jlhoots]

Finally something to get on Concord.

It's been a while for me.

Edited April 5, 2005 by jlhoots

[Dan Gould]

What surprises me is that he keeps putting things out on Concord but I could have sworn they had dropped him. I have noticed that the last few releases have Hamilton as producer, so it makes me wonder whether they're distributing his own recordings.

Anywhoo, for what its worth, I always thought that Race Point was one of his nicest dates.

[sheldonm]

What surprises me is that he keeps putting things out on Concord but I could have sworn they had dropped him.

...maybe he's not taking "no" for an answer!

[Chuck Nessa]

I do appreciate knowing where he is. B-)

[Joe M]

Exaclty what you would expect from these guys, nothing more, nothing less. Classy stuff. Looking at the cover though, Scott is starting to show his years. He used to be the young lion, now the older veteran!

[bebopbob]

A first rate recording. Hope there's more to come from this collaboration. Unlike Tommy Flanagan when he recorded "After Hours" with Scott in the late 90s, Bill Charlap is just reaching his prime.

As for Scott, I agree he's looking more middle aged particularly without the mustache but his playing's much more refined and robust.

A great album in all aspects.

[JohnS]

We promoted a concert by Scott just before Christmas last year. Nice swinging and very professional playing but slightly lacking the excitement factor. He told me he was based in London now.

Here's a rather poor image I took at the gig. Dave Green is the bass player.

Edited April 7, 2005 by JohnS

[Brownian Motion]

Scott seems to function at his highest level when other horn players are present. I treasure his Three Tenors date with Buddy Tate and Al Cohn--both of whom rise to the occasion as well. And pretty much anything Scott did with Warren Vache, Dave McKenna, or both is worth a listen.

That said, I've been disappointed with his choice of band-mates and material for some time now. He's in a rut, but he doesn't seem to care.

[Dan Gould]

That said, I've been disappointed with his choice of band-mates and material for some time now. He's in a rut, but he doesn't seem to care.

Gotta disagree there, as far as material/being in a rut.

If he's in a rut and picking bad material, then he's been in a rut since the late 70s!

(I know there are people who'll agree with that, but we'll put Chuck aside for the moment )

Not sure about the comment on sidemen. Maybe its been a few years, but he's recorded some pretty nice albums with Norman Simmons and Tommy Flanagan fairly recently.

OTOH, I just checked AMG for a review of this CD, and they call him "Journeyman saxophonist Scott Hamilton" so what do we know?

[alankin]

OTOH, I just checked AMG for a review of this CD, and they call him "Journeyman saxophonist Scott Hamilton" so what do we know? 

He's 50 years old and been recording for about 28 years...

Edited April 22, 2005 by alankin

[Dan Gould]

Yeah, I think when you're a leader for that long and record as much as he has, you've busted out of journeyman status.

[Brownian Motion]

Yeah, I think when you're a leader for that long and record as much as he has, you've busted out of journeyman status.

How insulting to call this fine musician a "journeyman".

Dan, how do rate the date he recorded with Gene Harris?

[Dan Gould]

Its definitely a nice one, with a good mix of blues and ballads.

They also appear together on the 25th Anniversary Concord Jazz Fest two CD set, for three tunes I think. Nice one, that is (and you get a fine performance by the Harris Quartet, too).

[Jim R]

I've always been kind of lukewarm regarding Hamilton, but I thought it worth mentioning that he's recorded a few times in recent years (on Venus) with another great pianist, Eddie Higgins.

[Dan Gould]

Yes, and they're rather nice. I think another one's due out soon or has come out already.

[JohnS]

People who come to our club seem to like him and he's always a sell out. So much so that we've booked him again for this December.