Arthur Blythe's alto saxophone was first heard in combination with
Bob Stewart's tuba during the late '70s on
Blythe's earliest albums Metamorphosis, The Grip, and Bush Baby.
Exhale, which was released by Savant Records in 2003, was something like the 14th
Blythe album to feature
Stewart on the big horn.
Stewart's pre-
Blythe adventures included dates with
Taj Mahal,
the JCOA,
Charles Mingus,
Lester Bowie,
Sam Rivers, and
Gil Evans. His muscular bass clef virtuosity has always proven peculiarly well suited for interaction with
Blythe's soulful soaring alto sax. The other half of the unit responsible for
Exhale consisted of pianist
John Hicks and drummer
Cecil Brooks III. In addition to several tracks designated as movements of "Exhaust Suite" (with
Hicks crossing over to Hammond organ), the group revisited a fine bouquet of standards by
John Coltrane,
Miles Davis,
Duke Ellington,
Jimmy Forrest, and
Nat King Cole. This enjoyable album's playlist also includes a glowing interpretation of "Just Friends" and, best of all perhaps, a pair of extended outings on "All Blues" and "Equinox." As was the case with his 2001 Savant release
Blythe Byte, the title track on
Exhale is a miniature that takes less than one minute to experience. ~ arwulf arwulf