Joe Lovano Us Five: Bird Songs – review

(Blue Note)Less capricious than Django Bates's tribute to Charlie Parker last year, but just as inspired and rich in references, Joe Lovano's Bird Songs is not just a stunning celebration of Parker's music, but a salute to the sax giants – Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Ornette Coleman and Wayne Shorter – who were liberated by it. Lovano celebrates and transforms this legacy with help from Us Five's two drummers, plus Esperanza Spalding's springy bass and pianist James Weidman's empat...

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