''Blues Cruise'' is an album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist

Chris Cheek Christopher Carson Cheek (born September 16, 1968) is an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Cheek was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where his father was the director of a Junior high school band. Cheek began learning to play the alto saxophone ...

. It was released by

Fresh Sound New Talent Fresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a jazz record label established in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi Pujol. The label was initially founded as a reissue label. The catalog includes work by musicians both major and minor that was recorded be ...

Background

Cheek had released three albums for Fresh Sound New Talent before this one."Chris Cheek – Blues Cruise"
Fresh Sound Records. Retrieved December 6, 2016. In addition to Cheek on saxophones, the

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, touring and recording while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's quar ...

trio were the other musicians.Bryant, Forrest Dylan (January/February 2007
"Chris Cheek – Blues Cruise"
''JazzTimes''.

Music and recording

The album was recorded at Avatar Studios, New York City, on March 16 and 17, 2005. Mehldau plays Fender Rhodes on some tracks.

Reception

The ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'' reviewer wrote that "The group strikes an appealing middle ground between old-school and modernist interpretative styles." ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' described the album as containing "measured thinking, unexpected and slippery development, and a taste for the macabre."

Track listing

#"Flamingo" (Grouya-Anderson) – 5:23 #"Low Key Lightly" (Ellington) – 6:36 #"Coo" (Cheek) – 6:49 #"Squirrelling" (Cheek) – 5:42 #"Song of India" (Korsakov) – 3:47 #"Falling" (Cheek) – 6:19 #"Blues Cruise" (Cheek) – 7:43 #"John Denver" (Cheek) – 6:05 #"The Sweatheart Tree" (Mancini) – 5:08

Personnel

– tenor sax, soprano sax *

– piano, Fender Rhodes *

Larry Grenadier Larry Grenadier (born February 6, 1966, in San Francisco) is an American jazz double bassist. Early life Grenadier's father was a trumpet player in World War II army bands and later in Europe but stopped playing professionally before his chi ...

– bass *

Jorge Rossy Jorge "Jordi" Rossy (born August 21, 1964) is a Spain, spanish jazz drum kit, drummer, piano, pianist and vibraphone, vibraphonist. Early life Rossy was born in Barcelona. His father, Mario, played the piano that was in the family home, as did ...

– drums

References

{{Authority control Chris Cheek albums 2005 albums Albums recorded at Power Station