TNT-Trombone N' Tenor.(Telarc)

Steve Turre

By Rick Forest

Acknowledged as one of the finest trombone players of the 80s and 90s, Steve Turre returns with his first quintet recording on TNT-Trombone N' Tenor.

It's Turre's second CD for Telarc, following a disc of quartets called In The Spur of the Moment where, like on this new album, he teams up with several different ensembles to showcase aspects of his musical interest. On TNT, Turre is joined by tenor saxophonists James Carter, Dewey Redman, and David Sanchez, while Turre himself, in somewhat of a departure, focuses completely on his trombone playing, leaving his familiar conch shell on the beach. The eight tracks pay tribute to some of Turre's favorite performers and composers, with tunes from Stanley Turrentine, Benny Goodman, Hoagy Carmichael and Ray Charles included. Some of the most interesting work is found on Turre's originals, most notably the longest track, "Dewey's Dance."

His 1972 work as a sideman for Ray Charles (who appeared on his last album) is saluted by his plunger work on the rollicking "Hallelujah, I Love Her So." If your exposure to Steve Turre has been limited to noticing him as that funky looking trombonist and occasional shell frontman on Saturday Night Live, you owe it to yourself to check out his work as a bandleader. He proves himself to be someone who will be on the scene, expanding our ears for some time to come.