Steve Davis, an excellent hard bop trombonist who is a successor style-wise of
J.J. Johnson and
Curtis Fuller, is in top form during his second Criss Cross CD as a leader. Once again
Davis is teamed up with tenor saxophonist
Eric Alexander, this time in a sextet with trumpeter
Jim Rotondi, pianist
David Hazeltine, bassist
Nat Reeves, and drummer
Joe Farnsworth.
Davis contributed five of the nine songs (including "Payne's Window" for baritonist
Cecil Payne),
Alexander brought in the up-tempo romp "Trippin'," and the sextet also performs three standards (including "Detour Ahead" and "Summertime").
Davis, who deserves much greater recognition, shows that he is one of the top straight-ahead trombonists of the 1990s and blends in well with
Rotondi and
Alexander. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow