Trombonist
Steve Davis, who was 28 at the time of this recording, makes his debut as a leader on
The Jaunt. A veteran of both
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers and
Jackie McLean's sextet,
Davis has a hard bop style reminiscent of
Curtis Fuller and
J.J. Johnson. He swings throughout this excellent quintet/sextet session, which also features tenor saxophonist
Eric Alexander, pianist
Bruce Barth, bassist
Ugonna Okegwo, drummer
Eric McPherson, and (on three of the nine numbers) altoist
Mike DiRubbo.
Davis and
Alexander in particular work together quite well, performing four originals by the leader (including the title cut),
Curtis Fuller's "Little Dreams,"
John Coltrane's "26-2," "Angel Eyes," "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was." The music is often very much in the Jazz Messengers' vein and the hard boppish solos are quite creative and generally colorful. An excellent debut for
Steve Davis. ~ Scott Yanow