- Format: CD
- Label: Fantasy
- Genre: Jazz
Of Tom Harrell the great altoist Phil Woods--who has played with everyone-- once said, "[He is] the best musician I've encountered in 40 years ofplaying." In 1989, trumpeter-flugelhornist-composer Harrell (b. 1946) left Woods's quintet after six years and made this eloquent album; now, with the addition of two bonus tracks recorded at the same sessions but previously available only on another disc, Sail Away appears for the first time in complete form. Harrell's originals, like Wayne Shorter's, are at once cogent, form-stretching, and a bit enigmatic, and his warm-toned, vibrato-less solos are often spellbinding, particularly on two ballads, "Glass Mystery" and the title tune. Joined by a supporting cast filled with the finest players of his generation (tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and pianist James Williams are particularly potent), Harrell has forged an album that remains a high point of his career.
TRACK LISTING:Eons, Glass Mystery, Dream in June, Sail Away, Buffalo Wings, It Always Is, Dancing Trees, Hope St., plus CD bonus tracks April Mist, Visions of Gaudí
