Central Park Wes

Pharoah Sanders (tenor sax, bells, vocals), Danny Moore (trumpet), Steve Turre (trombone), Lois Colin (harp), Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone), John Hicks (piano), Art Davis (bass), Billy Higgins (drums) and Flame Braithwaite, Bobby London, Skinah Muhammad, Carroll Wilson Scott and Yvette S. Vanterpool (vocals). From the album Rejoice (1981).

In 1996 Turre switched to the Verve label and recorded the innovative Steve Turre including singer Cassandra Wilson, jazz-rock and jazz fusion trumpeter Randy Brecker, bebop trombonist J.J. Johnson and Mongo Santamaría on congas. In 1999 he published Lotus Flower, in which he presents a sextet of trombone and shell horns, violin, cello, piano, double bass and drums. In 2000 he released In the Spur of the Moment for Telarc Records with four different quartets. The first with Ray Charles on piano playing blues, the second with Stephen Scott on piano playing modal jazz, the third with Chucho Valdés on piano playing Afro-Cuban jazz, and the fourth with Quartet Indigo, which uses the instruments of a chamber music quartet to improvise. In TNT (Trombone-N-Tenor) (2001) he plays with tenor saxophonists James Carter, Dewey Redman and Stephen Scott in three different quintets.

One4J: Paying Homage to J.J. Johnson (2003) is a tribute to this trombonist who committed suicide in 2001 unable to endure the suffering caused by a terminal illness. In 2004 Turre signed with HighNote Records and recorded The Spirits Up Above, a memorial to Roland Klirk. In Rainbow People (2008) he plays with the prestigious alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett and Woody’s Delight (2012) is a homage to trumpeter Woody Shaw in which the also renowned trumpeter Wallace Roney collaborates. In 2015 he changed to the Smoke Sessions label and published Spiritman with a set of standards. In Colors for the Masters (2016) he plays themes by Thelonious Monk, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Wayne Shorter, as well as his own compositions, with a deluxe rhythm section: Kenny Barron on piano, Ron Carter on double bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. And in his last album The Very Thought of You (2018) performs a series of ballads.

This is a beautiful ballad played by Sanders with an exquisite delicacy in which the choir join in later as well. In addition, the sound of the harp adds a special flavor to the musical piece. In this way Sander continues to fly over the choir with lyrical sensitivity. Then Hicks replaces him with a captivating and meditative melodic line. At one point the choir stops singing, but Hicks continues to develop his solo in a peaceful and relaxed way. Afterwards Sanders comes back with the choir to re-expose the theme and at the end adds a few gurgles.