80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005

To commemorate jazz legend James Moody's centennial birthday celebration, Origin Records releases the sanguine James Moody: 80 Years Young-Live At The Blue Note. The album captures both a March 2005 birthday party
and a victory lap for Moody as he fronts a stellar and rotating cast of musicians that includes trombonist Slide Hampton, pianist Cedar Walton and alto saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera. The vibes are as relaxed as they are humorous as Moody digs into his musical treasure chest and recontextualizes his signature vocal number "Moody's Mood For Love" for the hip-hop generation and uproariously croons at the tail end of "Benny's From Heaven." But it's not all jokes. The zigzagging "Bebop" and "Birks' Works" are two examples among many on the album of Moody as a force to be reckoned with as a thrilling saxophonist and flutist.