Rudolph Johnson

A brilliant album from the overlooked reedman Rudolph Johnson – his second session for the Black Jazz label, and even better than the first! There's a soaring, searching quality to the record that Johnson never had before – a way of handling his tenor with a tone that Coltrane would have envied, and which sparkles with some of Rudolph's most soulful 70s contemporaries – like Sonny Fortune or Andrew White! The tunes are almost all originals, and have this depth of vision that really holds us rapt throughout – a way of digging in and continuing to find new meaning throughout the course of Johnson's solos – with superb rhythm backing from the trio of Kirk Lightsey on piano, Kent Brinkley on bass, and Doug Sides on drums. Lightsey is wonderful too – maybe his best performance on record – and titles include the sublime numbers "The Highest Pleasure", "The Traveler", "Time and Space", and "The Water Bearer".

PERSONNEL:

• Kent L. Brinkley - bass
• Douglas J. Sides - drums
• Kirk Lightsey - piano
• Rudolph Johnson - tenor sax, arranger

TRACKS:

• 01. The Traveler
• 02. Time And Space
• 03. The Highest Pleasure
• 04. The Water Bearer
• 05. The Second Coming