American tenor saxophonist Jean Toussaint made his reputation as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He came to London to teach for three months at the Guildhall. That was 30-odd years ago and, happily for us, he’s still here. During that time he has taught at some of our leading music colleges and mentored many of our best young players.
This album, his first in four years, involves 14 musicians on the current British jazz scene, making up the ever-changing membership of his Allstar 6tet. Each one gets a chance to shine somewhere in these 11 Toussaint compositions, and always in just the right setting. Jason Rebello’s bubbling piano dominates the gentle Interlude For Idris, trumpeter Byron Wallen and trombonist Dennis Rollins solo with distinction in several numbers, and two drummers, Troy Miller and Shane Forbes, are outstanding. It’s typical of Toussaint that, while not being exactly self-effacing, he takes care not to hog all the attention. His own style, fluent and assured, with angular asides to keep you guessing, is as unmistakable as ever. It’s good to hear him playing so well among those he calls “my friends”.
