Jesper Thilo - Jesper Thilo & The American Stars (2-Disc Set)

Album: Jesper Thilo & The American Stars (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 147:05
Size: 336.7 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2011

[5:05] 1. Did You Call Her Today
[5:02] 2. My Romance
[6:24] 3. Just One Of Those Things
[6:07] 4. Save Your Love For Me
[6:22] 5. Cherokee
[6:23] 6. On The Trail
[9:08] 7. Like Someone In Love
[6:38] 8. Old Folks
[8:42] 9. Stelle By Starlight
[6:11] 10. God Bless The Child
[6:52] 11. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
[2:45] 12. Cotton Tail
[4:05] 13. Star Dust
[6:04] 14. Body And Soul
[5:32] 15. Rose Room
[6:33] 16. Wave
[3:54] 17. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
[3:40] 18. Blue And Sentimental
[3:21] 19. Sweets To My Sweet
[6:48] 20. Now And Then Blues
[5:00] 21. Cherokee
[7:10] 22. Seque In C
[7:15] 23. A Night In Tunisia
[5:06] 24. I'm Hungry Sabina
[6:48] 25. The Girl From Ipanema

This excellent sampler features the Zoot Sims-influenced Danish saxophonist Jesper Thilo on previously released performances taken from five LPs recorded during 1980-1987. Thilo is heard in a quintet with flügelhornist Clark Terry and pianist Kenny Drew (their version of Ben Webster's "Did You Call Her Today" is a delight), leading a quartet with Drew and drummer Billy Hart, jamming in a sextet with trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, interacting with pianist Roland Hanna in a quartet, and co-leading a quintet with trombonist Al Grey. In each setting, Thilo holds his own with the better-known Americans, jamming music that falls between swing and bebop. Terry, Edison, and Grey are all fun to hear as usual, since they not only swing hard but are witty improvisers. It would be preferable to have the complete sessions and hopefully they will be reissued on CD eventually, but this sampler will suffice in the meantime, serving as an introduction to the playing of Jesper Thilo. ~Scott Yanow

Jesper Thilo & The American Stars (Disc 1)

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Album: Jesper Thilo & The American Stars (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:41
Size: 173.3 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[4:11] 1. Sunday
[8:05] 2. Frog Eyes
[2:53] 3. Mumbles
[6:13] 4. This Time It's Real
[6:50] 5. Star Eyes
[5:16] 6. Body And Soul
[5:28] 7. Just Jazz
[7:10] 8. The Vanguard Groove
[5:09] 9. There Will Never Be Another You
[4:57] 10. Medley: Lover Man/Embraceable You
[5:34] 11. Satin Doll
[6:36] 12. Sophisticated Lady
[7:12] 13. Ballad For Jesper

Jesper Thilo, a swinging tenor saxophonist from Denmark, has Zoot Sims as his musical role model, although he also sounds a bit like Johnny Griffin on "Cherokee" and otherwise displays a bit of his own personality in his solos. Thilo recorded a series of albums for Storyville in the 1980s that teamed him with some notable American all-stars. This sampler has three songs apiece from four of the dates and two from a fifth project. The first three selections match Thilo with flügelhornist Clark Terry (who always sounds so jubilant) and a trio with pianist Kenny Drew. Thilo is quite warm on "Body and Soul" and Terry is wonderful on "Cotton Tail." The next three numbers have Thilo mostly in the spotlight, since it is a quartet session with Drew. There are also three numbers with trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison and the superior pianist Ole Kock Hansen, a trio of selections with the Sir Roland Hanna Trio, and finally a matchup with trombonist Al Grey. There are no throwaway tracks and the music is highly recommended to fans of the styles of Zoot Sims and Al Cohn. Hopefully, Storyville will reissue the complete contents of these five rewarding sessions at some point in the future. ~Scott Yanow

Jesper Thilo & The American Stars (Disc 2)

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