Mike Mainieri
Crescent
NYC Records
www.nycrecords.com
www.mikemainieri.com
By George W. Harris

Just before passing away, legendary alto saxist Charlie Mariano teamed up with vibist Mainieri and bassist Dieter Ilg to give a last will and testament to the music of John Coltrane. Mainieri was wise to push this recording forward, as he caught Mariano in a reflective yet poignant mood. The two discs here comprise material either composed by or associated with the tenor titan throughout his brief but important span on earth.

The music here is cerebral without being stuffy, spacious without being superfluous, and swingingly expressive without losing focus. Mariano loses a bit of his pitch on the slower and more long toned tunes like “What’s New” and “Nancy” but more than makes up for it with the lyric bounce of “Mr. Syms” and “Bye Bye Blackbird.” Mainieri and Ilg keep the mood bubbly yet serene, delivering a well composed ode to two great reed players from the 20th century.