Ned Otter - Powder Keg (CD)

All Music Guide

Tenor saxophonist and composer Ned Otter is an oldfashioned player in all the best senses of the term. Though a technical master of his horn, he impresses you with his chops without letting them distract you from the music; though wellversed in several generations of styles, he doesn't drag you along on an exhausting journey through jazz history in order to demonstrate his musical erudition. He has a skill set that is rare in jazz musicians: a combination of topnotch technique and exquisite melodic taste. (Having sidemen of the caliber of Billy Higgins and Harold Mabern, not to mention the fine bassist Dennis Irwin, doesn't hurt either, of course.) Otter broadcasts his intentions somewhat with an album title that sounds like it was lifted from the hard bop catalogs of Contemporary or Prestige circa 1955, and neither the tunes nor the playing will disappoint on that score: solid but relaxed renditions of the title track, "Tenderly," and Wes Montgomery's "Road Song" offer some of the alb...um's high points, as do the two Otter originals, "Been There Before" and "Black Sunday," the latter a lovely jazz waltz. The bass is perhaps just a bit too far back in the mix, but that's about the only flaw in this wonderful album. Highly recommended. - Rick Anderson, All Music Guide Read more Less