No-Nonsense Jazz on Oxman’s 11th Album

courtesy of Braithwaite & Katz

A little over a week ago, tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman released his eleventh album as a leader for Capri Records. The title of the album is Two Cigarettes in the Dark, which is probably a metaphorical acknowledgement that six of the ten tracks involve a partnership with another tenor saxophonist, the esteemed veteran Houston Person. Out of respect for listeners that want to know “who’s on first,” the back cover of the album specifies that Person will be coming out of the right speaker with Oxman on the left. Rhythm is provided by Jeff Jenkins on piano, Ken Walker on bass, and Paul Romaine on drums. Two of the tracks also include vocalist Annette Murrell.

The vocals are familiar standards, “Everything Happens to Me” and “Crazy He Calls Me.” Three of the tracks are Oxman originals, “Voss is Boss,” “Murphy’s Law Impacts L. E. A. P.,” and “Murrellancholy.” Most interesting, however, is that two of the tracks were composed by two other tenor giants that are no longer with us. Hank Mobley died on May 30, 1986; and he is honored with a performance of his “Bossa For Baby.” Johnny Griffin was of the same generation but lived until July 25, 2008. HIs selection on the album is “Sweet Sucker.”

The album reinforces my long-standing conviction that the only thing better than a master tenor saxophonist getting the most out of his instrument is a performance by two such masters. Oxman is about a quarter-century younger than Person. However, when one listens to the two of them jamming as a duo, it is clear that Oxman is sharply attentive to Person’s every move and knows exactly how to respond in kind.

Nevertheless, the overall package has a few disappointments. Murrell’s vocal work is not up to the same snuff as the instrumentalists. Her sense of pitch wavers more than is suitable for traditional songs, and her overall tone is too far on the rough side.

My real quibble, however, comes with the production of the album itself. As can be seen above, each of the Oxman titles clearly has a backstory. However, the liner notes, written by Charles McPherson, which occupies only a single page in the accompanying booklet, says nothing about the background and does not even mention “Murrellancholy.” I would like to believe that Oxman’s imagination behind these titles is as vivid as his improvisations, but the packaging of this recording can neither confirm nor deny that conjecture!