Charlie Mariano, who was born in Boston in 1923, looks back on working with Stan Kenton and Charles Mingus and such exotic experiences as teaching in Malaysia and studying the nagaswaram and other ethnic instruments in India or pioneering activities like forming Osmosis, one of the first fusion bands, collaborating with the Karnataka College of Percussion (when the world music movement was in its infancy) and co-founding the United Jazz And Rock Ensemble.
But Mariano is first and foremost a balladeer and he returns to his roots on "Deep In A Dream," a program of rarely performed standards selected and arranged by the saxophonist and pianist Bob Degen.
Eight of the ten tracks are tunes penned by some of the musical theatre's and Hollywood's leading songsmiths that, while ideally suited to jazz interpretations, are relatively under-recorded. Some of them go back to the 1930s such as Rodgers and Hart's "Spring Is Here," Ray Noble's "The Touch Of Your Lips" and Jimmy Van Heusen's "Deep In A Dream."
The CD also includes "Dew Drops," a Mariano composition inspired by his experiences living and working in Japan and subtly infused with oriental flavor, and a Degen original, "Etosha," which is a trio showcase for the outstanding rhythm section that previously backed trumpeter Dusko Goykovich on his ENJA release "In My Dreams.
Much like on the Goykovich album, this selected trio combines authentic American jazz virtues with refined European structural ideas. Again it softly forces the horn player to take unexpected steps and choose routes seldom travelled. For a long time, Mariano has not played chorusses more adventurous and innovative.
The album "Deep In A Dream" has a decidedly dreamy and romantic mood to it that brings Mariano's trademark tone to the forth. His alto sax sounds plaintive at times yet has that edge that helps distinguish him from other virtuoso alto modernists like Charlie Parker, Lee Konitz or Cannonball Adderley. Mariano's solos on the slow, slow ballads "I'm A Fool To Want You," "The Touch Of Your Lips" and "Close Enough For Love" are infused with the blues, a style he clearly never abandoned despite his forays into the worlds of Indian and Asian music. Rather, his return to the realm of standards inspired an exceptional session that ranks among the finest recordings in an already distinguished discography.
Musicians:
Charlie Mariano (alto saxophone), Bob Degen (piano), Isla Eckinger (bass), Jarrod Cagwin (drums).
10 Tracks.