Sail Away (Tom Harrell album) explained

Sail Away
Type:studio
Artist:Tom Harrell
Cover:Sail Away (Tom Harrell album).jpg
Released:1989
Genre:Jazz
Label:Contemporary
Producer:Bill Goodwin
Prev Title:Stories
Prev Year:1988
Next Title:Lonely Eyes
Next Year:1989

Sail Away is an album by the American musician Tom Harrell.[1] [2] It was released in 1989 via Contemporary Records. The title track became a jazz standard.[3] [4] [5] The album was reissued in 2003 with two bonus tracks.[6]

Production

Joe Lovano played saxophone on four tracks.[7] James Williams played piano; John Abercrombie played guitar.[8]

Critical reception

The Windsor Star wrote that "some tunes hover around a Wayne Shorter mode with their oddly looping lines, like 'Dream in June'." The Chicago Tribune called the album "a lovely piece of work—fresh, concentrated, expressive."[9] The Ottawa Citizen determined that "it's disappointing to find [Harrell's] melodic side overwhelmed by modal progressions and liberally stretched lines."[10] The Washington Post deemed Sail Away "a beautifully arranged collection of mainstream jazz tunes, highlighted by several ballads and medium tempo tunes that make the most of Harrell's warm, soulful fluegelhorn."[11]

The Village Voice noted "the skittery Miles [Davis] of the charged arpeggios, melodic shards, and rhythmic displacement" on "Eons" and the title track.[12] The Chicago Reader labeled "Sail Away" "one of the finest jazz sambas ever written and one of the more memorable compositions of any kind in 20 years."[13]

Notes and References

  1. Cordle . Owen . Record & CD Reviews: Tom Harrell / George Robert . DownBeat . May 1990 . 57 . 5 . 46.
  2. News: Christon . Lawrence . His Horn Chases the Blues . Los Angeles Times . 13 June 1992 . F1.
  3. News: Piano's Dedicators Get Standing Ovation . Portland Press Herald . May 4, 1996 . 8B.
  4. News: Last Stop . The Southern Illinoisan . March 6, 1996 . 4A.
  5. News: Stryker . Mark . Jazz . Dayton Daily News . May 5, 1995 . Go! . 17.
  6. Web site: Sail Away [Original Jazz Classics] Review by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. ]. AllMusic . 8 April 2023.
  7. News: Smith . Will . Tom Harrell, a trumpeter and flugelhornist... . Omaha World-Herald . October 29, 1989 . Entertainment . 12.
  8. News: Roebuck . Jay . Jazz Albums . Orange County Register . November 24, 1989 . P40.
  9. News: Fuller . Jack . Recordings . Chicago Tribune . 19 Nov 1989 . Arts . 28.
  10. News: Moody . Lois . Harrell weaker as leader . Ottawa Citizen . 23 Mar 1990 . C6.
  11. News: Joyce . Mike . Harrell, Snidero Blow Hot and Cool . The Washington Post . 27 Apr 1990 . N25.
  12. Giddins . Gary . Mood Swings – Tom Harrell Samples the Bitter With the Better . The Village Voice . June 26, 2001.
  13. Web site: Tesser . Neil . Tom Harrell Quintet . Chicago Reader . 8 April 2023.