Swing Low

After spending nearly a decade with the all-female big band Diva, and the last few years in pianist Joel Forrester's ensemble, baritone saxophonist Daly is more than ready to lead her own group, and it shows in this highly polished, professional, prodigious project. Imbued with the sound and spirit of greats like Pepper Adams, Gerry Mulligan, Sahib Shihab, Danny Bank and other baritone sax legends, Daly has taken their cues directly to heart while becoming a voice on the instrument that is literate, heartfelt, at times comedic, glowingly warm and all her own. Standards purr in Daly's hands. They are the bulk of this eleven song program. Warhorses like "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," "You Make Me Feel So Young," "I Wished on the Moon" and especially "I Thought About You" melt like butter on a sultry summer day under her command. Teamed with tenor saxophonist George Garzone for three tracks, Daly also proves an adept foil and playful team mate. The two originals plopped in the middle of the CD, Garzone's distended tango "The Chooch" and Forrester's hard-bopping "Sharp Turn," offer a challenge which Daly is quite up to, and she comes out of the cocoon, flying with a marked sense of originality. She really cuts loose on Rahsaan Roland Kirk's slow, loping "Lady's Blues," replete with stop-start dynamics and an occasional honk, squawk or whistle. The humorous aspect of her playing cannot be denied, and those many moments of sheer delight, readily evident, are setting her apart from the norm. Daly has accomplished a lot in her time, and the end result is this beautifully conceived and realized recording. Few others on her instrument will get this far, let alone say more musically. One would be hard pressed to find a more meaningful, enjoyable date from the '90s than the one Daly has given the jazz world. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi