Anton Schwartz - Radiant Blue Anton Schwartz Radiant Blue (AntonJazz - 2007) by Matthew Robinson
Floating in on the smooth jazz groove of “Phantom Dance,” Bay Area sax man Anton Schwartz works with a star-studded supporting cast that includes piano phenom Taylor Eigsti to work through a wide array of solid sounds that range from the Bayou blurps of “Alligator Strut” to the Latin tinges of “Groundsurge” to a Flim and the BBs-esq composition called “Life & Times” to the appropriately West Coast swing of “Hooking Up.”
Not only are his compositions clever, Schwartz also has a flair for the title. While “Blues for Now” is pretty bluesy and “Sneaking suspicion” subtle and noiry, “Slightly Off Course” is actually rather straight ahead and his musical tribute to the (now late) “Marcel Marceau” is filled with layers of sound, each of which is clearly audible and balanced in the self-arranged and self-produced mix.
From cover to the lone cover (a tasty take on Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Wave” that rolls in and out on Schwartz’s sax and Peter Bernstein’s breezy guitar), Radiant Blue is a pleasant and impressive album by a guy who knows his music.
Anton Schwartz
by Matthew Robinson