CD review: Wayne Escoffery – Alone – 2024: Full album video, CD cover

Tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, who has established himself as one of the leading modern jazz players, has released a new album for a one-horn quartet featuring Gerald Clayton (piano), veteran Ron Carter (bass), and Carl Allen (drums).

In addition to Wayne Escoffery’s originals, standards such as “The Sandpiper” and “Starlight Stella” are played in a heavy, thorough manner.

It’s important to remember that the word “record” album is just that-an actual record of where the artist is at that specific moment of time, be it musically, socially or spiritually.

Tenor saxist Wayne Escoffrey, one of the most important players these days, put together a viscerally emotive collection of tunes that reflect a point in his life where he was going through a series of personal crises. The emotion of rejection is palpably felt here through his horn, teamed with the simpatico Gerald Clayton/p, Ron Carter/b and Carl Allen/dr

Escoffrey’s tenor is warm and breathy in the Dexter Gordon fashion here, surrounded by beauty on “Moments with You” and floating with a sigh on the graceful title tune. Carter is a presence here, giving tasty little currents and responses to the leader’s blue cries on “Rapture”. Clayton, likewise gifts gentle flavors to the desultory subtones of  “The Shadow Of Your Smile” and allows the leader to brood with a wide vibrato on “Since I Fell For  You”.

And so to one of the MBB’s greatest alumni – seeing the British born player Wayne Escoffery at Ronnie’s in the band down the years you couldn’t wish for a better classic ”leading man” tenorist.

As a leader he has enough personality to step out from the reeds section. Here playing ballads, the sincerity in the playing, consummate instrumentalism and the tunes are what lifts Alone to heights that few could even aspire to.

The playing partners he has assembled include the greatest jazz bass player alive on it – Ron Carter – and formidable pianist Gerald Clayton and ever classy drummer Carl Allen complete the all-stars.

And Ron Carter’s ‘Blues for ‘D.P’ here on Alone is well caught – Grover Washington Jr did a delicious version of the tune too playing soprano sax for that version in the 1980s on Then and Now with Herbie Hancock and Ron among the cats. I remember interviewing Grover on the phone once back in the 1990s when he was doing promo for All My Tomorrows – it was an interview piece ran in a Mayfair magazine called Jazz on CD. The Bill Withers ‘Just the Two of Us’ legend proved a very pleasant person. I loved that record (still do). What a sound, much smoother he had than Escoffery here. His is more old fashioned, perhaps but elegant with it. He’s no fogey.

Recorded last year Alone is an album made after a love affair had ended and after an injury had stopped Escoffery from playing. The songs have a fairly similar feel and tempi, that in keepingness doesn’t matter at all, in fact it makes what the saxist has to say more compelling given the mood music. Selections include sensitive, unmannered, treatments of ‘Stella By Starlight’ and Johnny Mandel classic ‘The Shadow of Your Smile.’

Escoffery leads from the front and all the others believe in what he’s playing it seems obvious given how carefully everyone caresses the melodies and elaborates upon his subtle touches. It’s blindingly obvious it’s a new high water mark for Escoffery and the recording goes into the marlbank top albums of the year list straight away.

Escoffrey gives laconic pleading to “Blues For D.P.” and gives the roar of a lion as the gray fog rolls in on “Stella By Starlight”. This album makes Billie Holiday’s Lady In Satin seem glib.

1 Moments with You 6:31
2 Alone 8:07
3 Rapture 6:44
4 The Ice Queen 8:15
5 The Shadow of Your Smile 6:23
6 Blues for D.P. 6:08
7 Stella by Starlight 9:03
8 Since I Fell for You 5:06

Wayne Escoffery (ts)
Gerald Clayton (p)
Ron Carter (b)
Carl Allen (ds)