With All My Heart (RCA Bluebird)
Harvey Mason
Released November 26, 2003
All About Jazz Five-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kxF7CXhGmkPoTiob2HrG-DyCFUaH8egQ8
Spotify:
About:
Harvey Mason’s latest album doesn’t let on about the hidden riches within. You’d never know it from looking at it, but With All My Heart is a program of trios including pianists Herbie Hancock, Hank Jones, Chick Corea, Kenny Barron, Cedar Walton, Fred Hersch, Brad Mehldau, Mulgrew Miller, Bob James, Monty Alexander and Dave Grusin, and bassists Charlie Haden, Ron Carter, Eddie Gomez, George Mraz, Larry Grenadier and Charnett Moffett.
Track Listing:
1. Bernie’s Tune (Kenny Barron / Jerry Leiber / Bernard Miller / Mike Stoller) 03:41
2. If I Should Lose You (Dave Carpenter / Chick Corea / Ralph Rainger) 07:26
3. So Near, So Far (Eddie Gomez / Fred Hersch) 04:41
4. Swamp Fire (Monty Alexander / Charnett Moffett) 04:18
5. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Otto Harbach / Jerome Kern) 06:13
6. Hindsight (Cedar Walton) 05:26
7. Dindi (Larry Grenadier / Antônio Carlos Jobim / Brad Mehldau) 07:47
8. Without a Song (Mulgrew Miller / Vincent Youmans) 06:40
9. One Morning in May (Dave Grusin) 04:41
10. Speak Like a Child (Dave Carpenter / Herbie Hancock) 05:18
(Herbie Hancock, Grammy Award Best Jazz Instrumental Solo 2005)
11. Tess (Hank Jones / George Mraz / John Surman) 04:50
Personnel:
Harvey Mason, Sr.: drums
Kenny Barron: piano (1)
Chick Corea: piano (2)
Fred Hersch: piano (3)
Monty Alexander: piano (4)
Bob James: piano (5)
Cedar Walton: piano (6)
Brad Mehldau: piano (7)
Mulgrew Miller: piano (8)
Dave Grusin: piano (9)
Herbie Hancock: piano (10)
Hank Jones: piano (11)
Ron Carter: bass (1, 6, 8)
Dave Carpenter: bass (2, 10)
Eddie Gomez: bass (3)
Charnett Moffett: bass (4)
Charlie Haden: bass (5)
Larry Grenadier: bass (7)
George Mraz: bass (11)
Recorded at Sear Sound Recording Studios (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6 to 8, 11) and at The Firehouse Recording Studios (tracks 2, 5, 9, 10)
Produced by Harvey Mason
Executive-Producer: Hisao Ebine
Recorded by Al Schmitt (track 10), Don Murray (tracks 2, 5, 9), Ken Freeman (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6 to 8, 11)
Assistant Engineers: Bill Smith (track 10), Ed Woolley (tracks 2, 5, 9), Evan Lloyd (tracks 2, 5, 9), Steve Mazur (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6 to 8, 11)
Review:
Harvey Mason’s motto on With All My Heart seems to be “The one who plays drums in a jazz trio with the most bad-ass pianists and bassists wins. Arguably, that can be also stated of his entire career, as he has played and recorded with a mind-numbing amount of artists through various historical periods and musical styles. The lengthy and illustrious development of the quintessential small jazz group is definitely boosted by this recording.
The premise of the production was quite simple: Mason endeavoring to pair several of his favorite pianists and bassists to record material that is largely familiar to both musicians and the average jazz audience, as well as suited to the respective instrumentalists involved. With the exception of bassists Dave Carpenter, who performs on “If I Should Lose You and “Speak Like a Child, and Ron Carter, who executes on three compositions, the only common thread of the recording is the dexterous and versatile drumming of the leader. Blessedly, Mason also decided to write the liner notes—hence the prospect of knowing what he had in mind for each super-trio, their respective interpretations, and their raison d’être.
“If I Should Lose You, interpreted by Chick Corea, Carpenter, and Mason, is a first and only take. It’s emblematic of the best this project, the traditional jazz trio, and this type of music has to offer. Herein the devil isn’t only in the details, even though they tell a story by themselves. The cymbal ride, Carpenter’s in-and-out march (he seems to vanish while being ever more present), and Corea’s elegant and robust lyricism are some particulars worth mentioning. But those are minutiae within a dreamily tight and expressive cohesiveness that closes with an understated driven coda.
Hank Jones and George Mraz join the leader in “Tess. Jones opens by himself and takes immediate ownership of this number. Mason does quite a bit with it, without intruding one bit as Mraz lays it heavy yet unruffled before following Jones for a couple of bars. It is finger lickin’ good!
Javier AQ Ortiz (All About Jazz)
