Album of the Week – Emmet Cohen – Houston Person

From its languid beginning, saxophonist Houston Person’s own warmly engaging “Why Not?,” to its closing, Etta James’ slinky seduction “Sunday Kind of Love,” Emmet Cohen’s Master Legacy Series Vol. 5 Featuring Houston Person is a decidedly laid-back affair.

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’s 1938 chart-topper “I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart,” “All My Tomorrows” (a Jimmy van Heusen & Sammy Cahn vehicle for 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.

• Read the rest of Mike Jurkovic’s All About Jazz Review