The James Bazen Quintet, Stranger Things

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Personnel James Bazen: soprano, alto, tenor saxes, flute and recorder Mike Davis: trumpet and flugal horn Mark Cook: keyboards and piano Ward Harris: acoustic and electric bass Steve Larrance: drums

Reviews

...Beneath the mild-mannered exteriors beats the soul of the Blakey-Silver tradition, a rough and tumble side expressed in "Frenzy."
- Chuck Berg, Contemporary Currents Jazz Times, February 1994

I feel we will be hearing a lot from and about this East Coast-based talent. The date offers some fast hard swing to a soft funk-rock. The title track is an electronic funk.
- Lee Carson California Jazz Now, September 1993

Not a Strange Thing at all...Liked "Monks of The Castle" and "Gentle Breeze."
- W.O.B.O. 88.7 Cincinnati, Ohio

Good selection and good sounds..."I Thought About You" is really nice with Mike Davis' flugalhorn. The title track is good - Bazen is very talented...
- Jack Simpson Jack Simpson's Jazz On The Beach Florida

Allmusic.com has great reviews!

The Tunes

• Gentle Breeze
  A light jazz/rock tune by James Bazen and featuring smooth piano and soprano sax solos.
• Frenzy
  A "bop until you drop" original featuring aggressive solos by Bazen, Mike Davis, Mark Cook, and Steve Larrance.
• Afternoon Of A Cat
  A comfortable funk tune dedicated to Bazen's fat white cat Kiri.
• Time Again
  A Mike Davis original steeped in the Blue Note tradition.
• Stranger Things
  A daring jazz rocker with a screaming sax solo by Bazen, a flashy keyboard solo by Cook, and a wild trumpet solo by Davis.
• I Thought About You
  A beautiful rendition of this jazz standard featuring Mike Davis.
• Monks Of The Castle
  A mystic musical journey that starts with Gregorian chant and progresses to a rocking conclusion.