Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit

A quartet album of a handful of Seattle's top jazz players stemming from a regular weekly session in a small ale house. Much of the ensemble is the same as on Now...Here...This, though Hans Teuber's sax replaces Mike Denny's guitar. More notable, however, is the departure in tone. Where Now...Here...This was warm and relaxed, Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit is aroused, challenging. The two lead saxes steal much of the show, running through chord progressions and extended solos in front. Richard Cole contributes a third sax on a pair of tracks as well, adding fuel to the fire. Jeff Johnson provides some creative ideas on bass, and John Bishop keeps the rest of the band on time with a mix of basic cadence work and more inspired fills, flights and solos. This type of session of scene 'regulars' is the key to the forward movement of jazz, and this album showcases where it can lead, as well as serve as an excellent example of where the Northwest jazz scene is coming from.