In
jazz circles, there is a joke that goes like this: how many
jazz singers does it take to perform
"My Funny Valentine?" All of them. The point of that joke is that too many
jazz artists are paying too much attention to overdone
Tin Pan Alley warhorses that have long since been beaten to death. The joke is unfair in that it singles out vocalists -- numerous instrumentalists are guilty of the same thing -- but the fact remains that plenty of
jazz artists need to realize that worthwhile popular music didn't end with
Tin Pan Alley. Of course, not all improvisers are that shortsighted, which is why explorers ranging from
Herbie Hancock to
the Bad Plus to British singer
Claire Martin have been finding the
jazz possibilities in
rock and
R&B songs -- and it's why
the World Saxophone Quartet pays tribute to
Jimi Hendrix on
Experience. This 2003 date isn't the first instrumental
jazz release to focus on
Hendrix's compositions; bandleader/arranger
Gil Evans recorded an entire album of
Hendrix gems in 1974. But
Experience is the first
Hendrix tribute by an
avant-garde saxophone group, and
the WSQ's 2003 lineup (
David Murray,
Hamiet Bluiett,
Oliver Lake, and
Bruce Williams) brings an inside/outside perspective to classics like
"Foxey Lady," "If 6 Was 9," "The Wind Cries Mary," and
"Little Wing." The WSQ's lively, intriguing arrangements are as funky as they are abstract, and the foursome (which is joined by trombonist
Craig Harris, violinist
Billy Bang, bassist
Matthew Garrison, and drummer
Gene Lake) has no problem demonstrating that
hard rock,
heavy metal, and
psychedelic rock songs can be successfully reinvented as instrumental
jazz. Some die-hard
Hendrix lovers might nitpick about the absence of their personal favorites -- perhaps
"Purple Haze," perhaps
"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" or
"Castles Made of Sand"; regardless,
Experience is an excellent CD that finds
the WSQ still going strong 26 years after its formation. ~ Alex Henderson
![Pharoah [Expanded Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0680899800822_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Pharoah [Expanded Edition]")
![Universal Consciousness [Limited Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/4988031430217_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Universal Consciousness [Limited Edition]")
