Songs Along the Way
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| Songs Along the Way | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 2018 |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Label | Babel BDV17149 |
Songs Along the Way is an album by saxophonist Raymond MacDonald and pianist Marilyn Crispell. It was released in 2018 by Babel Records.[1][2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Jazz Journal |    [3] |
In a review for Jazz Journal, Barry Witherden wrote: "There is a beguilingly pastoral quality to some of the music... but there is no shortage of tumultuous, impassioned playing either. Both modes are impressive, poignant or rousing as appropriate."[3]
Shaun Brady, writing for Jazz Times, called the album "a stunning duo date... that ranges from tender beauty and traditional song forms to explosive bursts of torrential abstraction."[4]
Jazz Word's Ken Waxman stated that the musicians "express the romantic musical elements usually hidden in their more avant-garde work," and praised the track titled "Vortex," commenting: "A sonic whirlpool, but one in which neither player is lost, the... tune tracks the tonal evolution of MacDonald from echoing Johnny Hodges-like expressiveness to narrative deconstruction with growls and reed bites, and climaxes with tongue-stopping pressure. Crispell's entrance with bouncy key clips and pedal pushed low notes induces the saxophonist to change to lower-pitched notes and intensity vibrations. Together her keyboard galloping and his extravagant sound variable restructure the piece but without losing its forward motion."[5]
The creators of the Marlbank web site included the album in their "2018 Albums of the Year" list, stating: "Playing bond deepens in remarkable duoplay."[6]