2016 · Album
The Mezzo Sax Encounter
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Lovano Finds a New Frequency
Lovano on mezzo saxophone is a genuine curiosity — and it mostly pays off.
Joe Lovano has never been content to stay in one lane. Most people know him as a tenor player — one of the best working in jazz over the past few decades — but he has spent his career poking around the edges of the saxophone family and beyond. Joe Lovano's work on alto clarinet, flute, and even drums shows a restless musical mind, and this album, built around the mezzo soprano saxophone, fits squarely into that pattern of exploration. The mezzo sax sits between soprano and alto in pitch, and it gives Lovano a slightly rounder, less piercing sound than you get from the soprano — warmer in the middle register, a little more relaxed at the top.
What works here is how naturally Lovano adapts. He does not sound like a tenor player awkwardly transplanted onto an unfamiliar horn. The phrasing stays characteristically his — that slightly behind-the-beat looseness, the long melodic lines that breathe and drift before resolving. The rhythm section gives him room without disappearing, which is exactly what this kind of recording needs. A few tracks have a meditative, almost conversational quality that suits the instrument well.
That said, this is not the first album you hand someone who wants to understand Lovano. Start with his classic trio work — his years alongside Paul Motian and Bill Frisell show his range far more completely. But if you already know Lovano well and want to hear him genuinely wrestling with a new instrument and winning more often than not, this is worth your time. Think of it as a serious side trip rather than a destination. Fans of his wife Judi Silvano's collaborations with him will also recognize the adventurous spirit driving the whole thing.
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