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Emmet Cohen: Master Legacy Series Volume 5 Featuring Houston Person

By Mike Jurkovic
October 2, 2023
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Emmet Cohen: Master Legacy Series Volume 5 Featuring Houston Person

From its languid beginning, saxophonist

Houston Person

saxophone, tenor
b.1934

" data-original-title="" title="">Houston Person's own warmly engaging "Why Not?," to its closing,

Etta James

vocals
1938 - 2012

" data-original-title="" title="">Etta James' slinky seduction "Sunday Kind of Love,"

Emmet Cohen

piano
b.1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Emmet Cohen's Master Legacy Series Vol. 5 Featuring Houston Person is a decidedly laid-back affair, unlike much of its predecessors which featured

Jimmy Cobb

drums
1929 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Cobb,

Ron Carter

bass
b.1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Ron Carter,

George Coleman

saxophone, tenor
b.1935

" data-original-title="" title="">George Coleman,

Benny Golson

saxophone, tenor
1929 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Golson and

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Tootie Heath.

Maybe that is just the eighty-eight year old Person's influence. His big tone and big presence fill the studio with a master's calm, a master's flair for swing and blues. No need to rush it Person exudes. No need to rush it at all.

So the moonlight-shift swing of "Why Not" leads to Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart's 1932 charmer "Isn't It Romantic?" and it damn sure is. Cohen and Person make sure of it, while the ever faithful, ever reliable drummer

Kyle Poole

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Kyle Poole and bassist

Yasushi Nakamura

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Yasushi Nakamura keep the rhythm low key and swaying. Cohen (who cannot hide his enthusiasm for everything he plays) trades with and bounces joyfully off Person, his enervating runs a true tonic for these less than great days.

Originally written for

Sarah Vaughan

vocals
1924 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Sarah Vaughan,

Tadd Dameron

piano
1917 - 1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Tadd Dameron's uber-standard "If You Could See Me Now" gets a remarkably sincere reading, one which stands right up there with versions by

Chet Baker

trumpet and vocals
1929 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Chet Baker,

Bill Evans

piano
1929 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans, and

Dexter Gordon

saxophone, tenor
1923 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Dexter Gordon, to name just a few. Poole is in his glory here, holding steady when needed, then cooly bringing the swing. Person sails over the accompaniment, his horn holding true to the legends. A springing romp through

Billy Joel

piano
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Joel's standard, "Just the Way You Are" keels and wheels, an up- tempo jump just when needed.

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios (and sounding absolutely vintage) Cohen thrives in these inter-generational sessions where jazz knowledge, tradition, and history are handed down eagerly and generously. Nakamura plays spot-on throughout, nothing too flashy, nothing too abstract, just inhabiting the pocket into which he and Poole fit most comfortably. Add Person sailing effortlessly over

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington's 1938 chart-topper "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart," "All My Tomorrows" (a Jimmy van Heusen &

Sammy Cahn

composer / conductor
1913 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Sammy Cahn vehicle for

Frank Sinatra

vocals
1915 - 1998

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Sinatra) and a capering run through "Blues Everywhere" makes Master Legacy Series Vol. 5 Featuring Houston Person another top shelf effort in Cohen's growing, and glowing, discography.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Why Not?; Isn't It Romantic?; If You Could See Me Now; Just The Way You Are; I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart; All My Tomorrows; Blues Everywhere; Sunday Kind Of Love.

Personnel

Houston Person

saxophone, tenor

Emmet Cohen

piano

Yasushi Nakamura

bass

Kyle Poole

drums

Album information

Title: Master Legacy Series Volume 5 Featuring Houston Person | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Bandstand Records

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