From the opening notes of All the Things You Are, it is evident that Yamanaka is not your run-of-the-mill tenor player. His tone, straight from Lester Young via Stan Getz, Charlie Rouse and others, is slightly breathy, elegantly controlled and very much in the pocket. Yamanaka is equal to the task whether it be ballads (Make the Man Love Me,
Who Can I Turn To, or the rarely heard Tadd Dameron tune, Whatever Possessed Me); bop (Monk's Let's Cool One); or blues (the title tune Great Time). Add three super pros in Junior Mance, Earl May and Ben Riley to the mix and you
have a superb, satisfying CD. ****1/2 Stars
Recently selected as Japan's 3rd best tenor saxophonist by the Swing Journal, Great Time is the debut U.S. release from Yamanaka.
Track Listing:
1. All the Things You Are 3:57
2. Make the Man Loves Me 5:48
3. Great Time 5:32
4. Who Can I Turn To 6:18
5. Charlie 4:07
6. Body and Soul 6:32
7. Let's Cool One 7:45
8. Whatever Possessed Me 5:46
Performers:
Yoshiyuki Yamanaka - tenor saxophone
Junior Mance - piano
Earl May - bass
Ben Riley - drums
Production Info:
Produced by Satoshi Inoue
Executive producer: Yoshiyuki Yamanaka
Collaborator: Junko Koike
Recorded at Clinton Studio A, New York City, Oct. 13 & 14, 1999
Recorded by Troy Halderson
Mastered by Katsuhiko Naito & Katherin Miller
Post production supervision: Matt Jorgensen/OriginArts
Art direction: John Bishop/OriginArts
Reviews of Great Time
All Music Guide (Dave Nathan)
Tenor sax player Yoshiyuki Yamanaka was leaving nothing to chance for his first album for Origin. He brought three of the top rhythm players extant into the studio, the inestimable jazz artists Junior Mance, Ben Riley, and Earl May. As much as the fine playing by the tenor sax man, these three contribute to the musical achievements attained on this ...