Echoes of A Note -- Remastered 20-Bit K2 XRCD
Tiger Okoshi - A Tribute to Louis "Pops" Armstrong
1993 JVC Records
Spellbinding August 2, 2009
By Karl W. Nehring
Format:Audio CD
Some readers might be familiar with New Orleans trumpeter Leroy Jones, whose Props for Pops is a delightful tribute to legendary New Orleans trumpeter Louis Armstrong. You may have already guessed that Okoshi is not a Crescent City native, but Tiger considers himself one of "Pop's boys," and Echoes of a Note is a tribute to Satchmo, featuring many of the same Armstrong-related tunes featured on Jones's CD, but done in a much different style.
On this CD, Okoshi is supported by Stern on guitar, Goldstein on piano and accordion, plus Bela Fleck on banjo, Jay Anderson on bass, and Peter Erskine on drums. This all-star ensemble pays tribute to Armstrong by recasting his music in bop form. Satchmo's notes are there, but as echoes, not as re-creations.
The overall effect is spellbinding, and the music is aided by the sonic quality, which is again razor-sharp without ever sounding the least bit bright or hard. The net result is a CD that can be played over and over and over again, each time yielding new delights--just like Leroy Jones's CDs, but yet so different, too. What a wonderful world, indeed!
1. Hello, Dolly!
2. Basin Street Blues
3. (When We Are Dancing) I Get Ideas
4. St. James Infirmary
5. Rockin' Chair
6. St. Louis Blues
7. When It's Sleepy Time Down South
8. On the Sunny Side of the Street
9. When the Saints Go Marching In
10. What a Wonderful World
Personnel: Tiger Okoshi (trumpet); Gil Goldstein (piano, Fender Rhodes, accordion); Mike Stern (electric guitar); Bela Fleck (banjo); Jay Anderson (acoustic bass); Peter Erskine (drums, percussion).Recorded at The Power Station, New York on March 14-16, 1993.Digitally remastered by JVC using XRCD (extended resolution compact disc).