Homage

Album Notes & Community Reviews

On 'Homage', tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano presents an ambitious large-ensemble work centered on two major suites: a five-part original composition and a separate three-part tribute to the seminal 'Birth of the Cool' sessions. The latter suite, featuring arrangements and conduction by Gunther Schuller, reinterprets melodic themes from Miles Davis's 1948 and 1950 nonet, looking back at pre-bop roots while simultaneously pushing toward free-jazz. Throughout, Lovano’s powerful and inventive solos serve as the focal point, creating a dialogue between historical reverence and contemporary improvisation.