JAZZ SPOTLIGHT : ERNIE WATTS (***) : “Reaching Up” / <i> JVC</i>
Watts’ main appeal, a virile, emotionally charged attack, is showcased here with equally potent sidemen: drummer Jack DeJohnette, pianist Mulgrew Miller and acoustic bassist Charles Fambrough.
The ploy works to a point as Watts powers his way through the title tune, John Coltrane’s “Mr. Syms” and an upbeat “I Hear a Rhapsody” all driven by DeJohnette’s tom-tom bombs and chattering snare. But the tenor man’s need to be assertive can be distracting as his relentless phrasing dances on without a break.
Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval guests on a pair of tunes, and is just as insatiable. More reserved numbers--Watts’ “Inward Glance” and “Transparent Sea”--give the saxophonist and the listener room to breathe.
New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).
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