Dayna Stephens

PERSONNEL:

DAYNA STEPHENS tenor, soprano & baritone sax
WALTER SMITHH III tenor sax
AARON PARKS piano
MIKE MORENO guitar
HARISH RAGHAVAN bass
RODNEY GREEN drums

New York, October 29, 2013

TRACKS:

01. SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY
02. ISN’T THAT SO?
03. BLUE IN GREEN
04. UNCLE Jr.
05. A NEW BEGINNING
06. NEW DAY
07. CONTRAFACT
08. OUR WORLD
09. WALT’S WALTZ
10. BLUES UP AND DOWN

For his third Criss Cross release, following "Today is Tomorrow" (Criss 1345) and "I'll Take My Chances" (Criss 1361) tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens presents a fresh take on the "saxophone battle" genre in partnership with rising star Walter Smith III, himself the leader of the critically acclaimed "III" (Criss 1328).
Complemented by a state-of-the-art rhythm section of A-list 30-somethings (Aaron Parks, piano; Mike Moreno, guitar; Harish Raghavan; and Rodney Green, drums) the protagonists juxtapose their distinctive instrumental voices and apply their melody-centric sensibilities to a varied program comprising original music, as well as the iconic two-tenor standard Blues Up And Down and Bill Evans‘ Blue In Green. Less a cutting contest than a forum for collective story-telling, "REMINISCENT" is a tour de force that will repay repeated listenings.- From the liner notes