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Ian Hendrickson-Smith: The Lowdown

By Jack Bowers
December 16, 2020
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American alto saxophonist

Ian Hendrickson-Smith

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Ian Hendrickson-Smith and Canadian tenor saxophonist

" data-original-title="" title="">Cory Weeds had been gigging together for almost two decades, mostly in Canada, but hadn't preserved any of their encounters on record until Hendrickson-Smith invited his companion to join him for a studio date in November 2019 at the renowned Rudy Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. The album was planned as a tribute to drummer

Lawrence Leathers

drums
1981 - 2019

" data-original-title="" title="">Lawrence Leathers who died in June of that year, age thirty-seven. Leathers' nickname was "Lo," hence the album's title, The Lowdown (on Weeds' Cellar Music label).

When it comes to front-line partners, Hendrickson-Smith couldn't have fared much better. Weeds' tenor is weighty and strong, a perfect complement to Hendrickson-Smith's bright and bluesy alto. And when it comes to improvisation, neither one is ever at a loss for a resourceful and engaging turn of phrase. Rounding out the impressive quintet are Wisconsin-bred, New York-based pianist

Rick Germanson

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Rick Germanson alongside bassist

John Webber

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">John Webber and drummer

Joe Farnsworth

drums
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Farnsworth, a pair of rhythmic dynamos who are so busy on the New York scene and have enhanced so many recordings that their names should be well known to attentive jazz fans.

Hendrickson-Smith wrote the album's title song and opening number and, if it seems mournful and blues-drenched, that is by design. Leathers' death, Hendrickson-Smith writes, "leaves a terrible void in all of us who were lucky enough to know him." The cheerless melody and Germanson's deft filigrees lead to ardent solos by Hendrickson-Smith and Weeds as Webber and Farnsworth lay the sturdy groundwork, as they do on every selection. The session, as it turns out, is divided almost evenly in halves, with two more compositions by Hendrickson-Smith, the mid-tempo charmer "Savin' Up" and impetuous "10:30," preceding a trio of melodious standards, "Nancy (With the Laughing Face"), "I Should Care" and "Don't Explain."

Hendrickson-Smith and Weeds are on their game from fore to aft and stem to starboard, as is their compliant rhythm section. Would that there were more of this enticing music to relish, as the session clocks in at a modest forty-three minutes. That is, however, the sole drawback in an otherwise splendid, congenial and well-recorded album whose performance is exemplary.

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Track Listing

Side One: The Lowdown; Savin' Up; 10:30 Side Two: Nancy ( With The Laughing Face); I Should Care; Don't Explain.

Personnel

Ian Hendrickson-Smith

saxophone, alto

Cory Weeds

saxophone, alto

Rick Germanson

piano

John Webber

bass, acoustic

Joe Farnsworth

drums

Album information

Title: The Lowdown | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Cellar Live

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