Artist: Danny Thompson
Album: Whatever's Best
Genre: Mainstream Jazz, Contemporary Jazz
Label: WhatDisc
Released: 1995
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue)
Tracklist:
- Sandanska Oro 5:24
- Searchin' 4:48
- Freedom (Prayer / Dance / Thanksgiving) 9:20
- Hopdance 4:54
- Women In War 8:00
- Fair Isle Friends 3:21
- Beanpole 4:08
- Musing Mingus 11:36
- Dargai 5:50
DOWNLOAD FROM FILECAT.NET >>>
- Personnel:
- Tony Roberts: soprano solo (1), tenor solo & Northumbrian pipes (2), bass clarinet solo (5)
- Bernie Holland: guitar solo (1,4)
- Paul Dunmall: soprano sax solo (3), tenor sax solo (6), soprano solo (9)
- Alan Skidmore: soprano sax solo (5), tenor solo (8)
- John Etheridge: guitar solo, bottleneck guitar and electric guitar solo (5)
- Maire Ni Chathasaigh: Irish harp (6)
- Stan Tracey: piano (8)
Rather than simply reissue his second and third solo albums, 1989's Whatever's Next and 1990's film score Elemental, Danny Thompson instead chose to drop a few minor tracks from each and combine the two for the concise, hour-long Whatever's Best. It's a wise move, as both albums had needed a bit of tightening, and Whatever's Best saves all of the highlights from both. It's an unusual quartet album, matching Thompson's upright bass and an unobtrusive rhythm guitarist to a front line composed entirely of reeds ranging from soprano sax to bass clarinet, with some Northumbrian pipes thrown in for good measure on the meditative "Dargai." It's a wildly diverse set, ranging from the Bulgarian-inspired "Sandasko Oro" to the utterly delightful "Hopdance," which sounds like the artsier cousin of Ashley Hutchings' Albion Band. Elemental added drums and piano to a similar bass-and-reeds setup, but the most successful track on the album is the simple, beautiful elegy "Musing Mingus," a heartfelt and expansive tribute to Thompson's obvious inspiration. Voiceprint later reissued both albums in full, but Whatever's Best is a worthwhile precis for the merely curious.