Joe Lovano: Body and Soul

Many critics will argue that Joe Lovanos From the Soul is one of the great albums of the 1990s. Am I among them? You bet. Taking on Body and Soul is not for the faint of heart. A saxophonist gets one crack at addressing that standard bearer of jazz compositions, and in the process can ascend to greatness, make a fool of himself or, worse, fail to make an impression. From the Soul was a quartet date with pianist Michel Petrucciani, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Ed Blackwell (talk about an all-star cast), but Holland and Blackwell sat this tune out, bringing the tender exchanges between sax and piano to the forefront. The two musicians circle each other like dancers entwined, thoughts overlapping and complementing. They are leading each other, but never too forcefully, and neither feels like the lesser half of the duo.