Five Voices in Perfect Conversation
Flanagan plays with the restraint of someone who knows exactly when to step back and let the horns breathe.
Jazz Eyes arrives as five musicians in a room, no overdubs, no safety net. Tommy Flanagan sits at the piano with his touch light and conversational, laying out chord changes that give John Jenkins, Donald Byrd, and Curtis Fuller room to move. The horns trade ideas with the ease of people who've played together enough to know when to push and when to listen. Art Taylor anchors everything from the drums with taste that never gets in the way, and Doug Watkins on bass keeps the whole thing from floating off the ground. It's a working quintet playing material that sits somewhere between bebop's harmonic density and the cleaner sound that was emerging in the mid-fifties.
Flanagan was early in his recording life when this session happened, but he plays like someone with no need to prove anything. His comping behind the horns is precise—he knows when a soloist needs space and when a harmonic push will open a door. Jenkins has a warm tone that cuts through without aggression, and Byrd's trumpet finds sharp, melodic lines rather than flashy runs. Fuller's trombone adds weight and a slightly darker color to the ensemble sound. The arrangements are straightforward—head, solos, head—which is exactly right. There's nothing cluttered here, nothing fighting for attention.
This is a solid working date that shows what Flanagan could do in a small group setting before his career branched into accompany work and leadership. It doesn't have the historical weight of his later sessions, but it's honest playing from musicians who understood their role in the conversation.
Who's playing
Doug Watkinsdouble bass
Tommy Flanaganpiano
John Jenkinsalto saxophone
Donald Byrdtrumpet
Curtis Fullertrombone
Art Taylordrums
Where next?
More by Tommy Flanagan
All 29 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
