Jan Harbeck Quartet - In the Still of the Night

2008 release

Not every European jazz saxophonist is immersed in trying to be the latest cutting-edge innovator. Jan Harbeck has played a wide range of material on the Danish jazz scene, but his debut as a leader is a striking, old-fashioned quartet session -- dominated by songs from the Great American Songbook and top American jazz composers -- with the support of an excellent rhythm section, including pianist Henrik Gunde, bassist Eske Nørrelykke, and drummer Kresten Osgood.

One can hear elements of several greats in the tenor saxophonist's playing, though he never results to pure copying of any one man's style. "If I Should Lose You" is a suitably lush opener, with a brief rapid-fire run suggestive of Duke Ellington's explosive soloist Paul Gonsalves, while his reverent treatment of Ellington's "Come Sunday" would have likely impressed its composer. Harbeck also delights in early, now infrequently performed songs like "Someday You'll Be Sorry," "Petite Fleur," and "Bye-Bye Blues," finding plenty of life left in these old chestnuts. While there is no new ground broken on this warm debut disc, Jan Harbeck has done a fine job interpreting these familiar standards.

Ken Dryden