wowhd.co.uk

Saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh is an old soul. He favors spontaneity between performers on the bandstand, prefers the feel of a swinging band to heady, over-wrought music, and likes the sound of analog over digital. When it came time to work on a new project, Sabbagh wanted to record an album that would sound like a set in a club, and felt ready to look back to early influences. On Vintage, his first album as a leader featuring piano, Sabbagh enlists the piano legend Kenny Barron in his all-star quartet to help make a recording that connects generations and makes tradition vital once again.

Sabbagh also has an ear for the tradition. One of his seminal early jazz experiences came when he was a teenager and got to hear Stan Getz in Paris. Kenny Barron was Getzs accompanist that evening and Sabbagh was taken immediately, standing outside the back door to get Getz and Barrons autographes after the show.