Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Melvin Smith: Perseverance

Melvin Smith: Perseverance

By Jack Bowers
April 22, 2023
View read count

Perseverance, Florida-bred saxophonist Melvin Smith's seventh album as leader of his own group, is a hard-blowing session on which he shows (again) that he is one of the leading bop-based reed masters on today's scene. On soprano or tenor, Smith displays a clarity of purpose and storehouse of astute phrases that serve him well at any pace and in any context.

Besides alternating horns (tenor on seven numbers, soprano on four), Smith adds texture and variety to the session by using pianist Jeb Patton on six tracks, organist

Greg Lewis

organ, Hammond B3

" data-original-title="" title="">Greg Lewis on the others. Smith, Lewis and drummer

Jeremy Warren

drums
b.1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeremy Warren comprise a trio on those selections, while bassist

Corcoran Holt

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Corcoran Holt makes it a quartet the rest of the way.

According to the album jacket, all songs were "composed and/or arranged" by Smith. Arranged, yes; but Smith wrote only three ("Letter to the Ancestors," "Gettin' It" and "Perseverance").

Jimmy Heath

saxophone, tenor
1926 - 2020

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

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter and

Sam Rivers

saxophone, tenor
1923 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Sam Rivers inscribed other themes to accompany three by

Robert Watson

" data-original-title="" title="">Robert Watson and the traditional anthem, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child."

It would be hard to envision a more cordial opening number than Heath's refreshing "Sound for Sore Ears" (Smith on soprano, splendid solos by Patton and Warren), which precedes the first of Watson's compositions, the sunlit "Karita," on which Smith moves to tenor, remaining there for a Latinized version of "Motherless Child." Shorter's charming "One by One" is a highlight, as is Smith's funky "Gettin' It" (soprano on the first, tenor on the second).

Rivers wrote the free and easy "Beatrice" (trio, Smith on soprano), which leads to "Perseverance," the only number on which Smith lets his tenor stray from melodic to strident, but only briefly. The tenor/organ trio returns for the lively and enchanting "Golden" before the session ends with Watson's colorful "Beatitudes" (quartet, Smith on tenor). While everyone plays well, Perseverance is first and foremost a showcase for Smith, and he never fails to wrap it in a mantle of clarity and charm.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Sound for Sore Ears; Karita; Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child; A Letter to the Ancestors; Beatitudes-Interlude; One by One; Gettin�� It; Beatrice; Perseverance; Golden; Beatitudes.

Personnel

Melvin Smith

saxophone

Jeb Patton

piano

Greg Lewis

organ, Hammond B3

Corcoran Holt

bass

Jeremy Warren

drums

Album information

Title: Perseverance | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Self Produced

PREVIOUS / NEXT

This Moment
< Previous

Mike Stern Band from the Piacenza Ja...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.